Demand for police minister to resign
OPPOSITION parties have called for the head of the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, for bungling the appointment of the head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza.
Nhleko denied to MPs yesterday he had nine lives – like a cat – and will survive this latest bungle in his department.
In a letter to Parliament yesterday, Nhleko asked MPs for condonation of his late notification of Ntlemeza’s appointment.
But Pieter Groenewald of the Freedom Front Plus and Zakhele Mbhele of the DA told him that he needed to get his act together.
Nhleko forgot to inform Parliament of Ntlemeza’s appointment last year, and only remembered now.
The law requires that Parliament be informed within 14 days after Ntlemeza was appointed to the position last September.
Groenewald said Nhleko would survive this latest scandal, as he has done in the past.
It will be for Parliament to decide whether it grants him condonation for his late notification.
The FF Plus said despite Mbhele’s call for Nhleko to resign, he wouldn’t go.
“Minister, I can assure you I did not gang up with honourable Mbhele. I can answer for the minister. He won’t step down. Like Winston Churchill said, war and politics are the same, the only difference is that in war if you are killed, you die once; in politics, you die many times. The minister has nine lives, like a cat,” said Groenewald.
Luck
But Nhleko said he did not believe he had such luck.
“Honourable Groenewald, be careful what you read. Do I have nine lives, eh, eh. Like a cat. No?” he said.
He said every appointment in the police was under the SAPS Act.
He said the appointment of Ntlemeza was legitimate, the only outstanding thing was to inform Parliament timeously.
“There was no way we could put together a cabinet memo detailing the appointment and turn around and say there was a confusion. There was no confusion,” he said.
However, the appointment of Ntlemeza would have to receive the support of Parliament.
The DA said it suspected Nhleko acted on this after it alerted him of this error in its question to him two weeks ago.
Groenewald said somebody was sleeping on the job in Nhleko’s office.
Nhleko said he had not seen Mbhele’s question sent to his office on the procedures in the appointment of Ntlemeza.
He said he had been away on business and only returned to his office a few days ago.