Phiyega threatens to sue police over ‘state business’
FORMER national police commissioner Riah Phiyega has been left fuming after the police submitted a report in Parliament alleging she was in business with the state during her tenure.
Phiyega yesterday described it as a “misrepresentation of the highest order” and threatened to sue the police.
This came after the SAPS top brass tabled a report in the standing committee on public accounts showing that 32 police officials were in business with the state.
Last night Phiyega told Independent Media the alleged company was a business unit of Transnet and was sold to an individual in 2002.
“You know the company has not been existing for many years. It was a business division of Transnet that handled the travelling of Transnet executives,” she said.
“I was not collecting any fees. I served on various boards of Transnet without collecting any fees,” she said.
Phiyega said she was angry the police would drag her through the mud by tabling such a report.
“It is misrepresentation of the highest order,” said Phiyega.
In the list it is said Phiyega was paid R9 729.
Phiyega said someone in the police was being mischievous.
The police admitted to the committee that Phiyega was no longer part of the company.
The head of human resources in the police, Lieutenant-General Bonang Mgwenya, said they had instituted investigations into the cases of officials doing business with the state.
Mgwenya said a forensic investigation found that Phiyega had resigned from the company.
She said the report had cleared Phiyega.
ANC MP Nyami Booi accused the police of failing to rein in their members for doing business with the state.
Scopa chairperson Themba Godi said that when the Auditor-General released his first report into officials doing business with the state across government, the police ranked high on the list.
Out of contracts worth R30m investigated by the Auditor-General, the police were involved in those worth R14m.
Selinah Nkosi of the Public Service Commission said they often write to the ministers to ask them to deal with officials doing business with the state in order to remove conflicts of interest. Deputy Minister of Police Bongani Mkongi said they will attend to the matter.