Public Service Commission

Adv Johnson testified that a Public Service Commission report dated 2023 was only shown to him for the first time during the inquiry, despite the fact that it made findings that should have halted the IDAC investigation once received.

“we have the Public Service Commission report dated 2023, Commissioner Khumalo, which I see for the first time. I only allude just to these two because they are very pointed and they are very factual in the nature of what is before us. I have had to ponder why we find ourselves in this position as IDAC, and why, while I accept, and I do not think that there is meanness when questions are posed by the Commission about, but why you did not know you should have read. I think the Commission understands I cannot read everything and will not know everything, and I do have to trust and rely on my people. And I am, I sat with a conundrum last night of, why were these things not brought to my attention? And if, especially with the Public Service Commission report, which is somewhat quite different, it should have stopped the day the report came in, because it should have been brought to the attention of the ID to say, ID, look, we thought we have a right to investigate this, but here it is. It has been done. Findings have been made. That would have set that matter aside. That was not done.”

Commissioner Baloyi correctly stated that irregular appointments in Crime Intelligence were investigated by the Public Service Commission, not IDAC, and related complaints had been previously addressed by the PSC with recommendations to the National Commissioner and Minister.

“... By the time Mr Adams brings these things to IDAC, the Public Service Commission has already investigated them and made recommendations... It is not IDAC's mandate to be investigating these issues because there are other bodies that are responsible for these investigations.”

Despite the regularity of Khumalo's appointment, the PSC recommended that the Minister should facilitate corrective measures regarding sound record keeping and sensitising officials.

“Despite the determination that Lieutenant General Khumalo's appointment to the post of Head of SAPS CIU, was regular, the Public Service Commission recommends that the Minister should facilitate ... Corrective measures be put in place to ensure sound record keeping to sensitise officials regarding the importance of good record keeping.”

Advocate Johnson later encountered General Khan at a public service commission or department workshop and expressed his concerns about media reports linking Khan to persons associated with the Murray murders.

“I later encountered General Khan at a public service commission or Department of Public Service and Administration Workshop. I asked to speak to him and told him that the media reports about his alleged involvement with persons linked to the Murray murders were concerning.”

The affidavit in question seems to be a typical HR matter that the Public Service Commission would deal with, rather than a criminal investigation matter.

“That seems a typical HR matter that the Public Service Commission would deal with.”

Potential conflicts of interest among senior management in the South African Police Service (SAPS) are identified and reported annually by the Public Service Commission, with around 30 cases reported each year.

“In the Parliamentary questions, there is this response where the acting Minister of Police mentions, I believe every year it was around roughly 30 changes, potential conflicts of interest that were reported by the Public Service Commission among the senior management service.”

Concealment of financial interests in immediate family members creates challenges for managing conflicts of interest in public service contexts such as Public Service Commission or line ministry.

“part of the challenge with not extending these requirements to your immediate family members is both the concealment of these assets and your financial interests, but the effect, the downstream effect that that has, for example, on managing conflicts of interest, if we, as I say, for example, as a Public Service Commission or line ministry”

The Public Service Commission verifies disclosures for Senior Management Service, but there are gaps in disclosure forms and the current approach is largely about assessing compliance rather than identifying substantive red flags for investigation.

“the disclosures are currently verified for the SMS is through the Public Service Commission... some of the gaps in the disclosure forms and how that leaves some deficiencies in areas that we might miss the blind spots... the current approach is largely about assessing compliance.”

The current framework addressing corruption prevention in South Africa is fragmentary and incremental approaches have reached limitations; a substantive overhaul with a dedicated corruption prevention agency is needed.

“a lot of the fragmentation and weaknesses that we see in the current framework are a result of incremental attempts to improve the system ... the system in its current form has reached the limit of incremental improvements and has reached a point where you need the more substantive overhaul of how these functions are dispersed”

The Public Service Commission verifies financial disclosures and identifies conflicts of interest, which are then referred to line ministries; ethics officers within line ministries conduct lifestyle reviews and verify disclosures below the Senior Management Service (SMS); the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) proposes to lead lifestyle audits for all public entities, or this function is performed by external contractors; any findings from that process are referred either to SAPS or the Hawks for criminal investigation or to the individual line ministry for disciplinary action.

“The Public Service Commission verifies financial disclosures and identifies conflicts of interest, which are then referred to line ministries. Ethics officers within line ministries conduct lifestyle reviews and verify disclosures below the SMS. The SIU proposes to lead lifestyle audits for all public entities, or this function is performed by external contractors. And any findings coming out of that are then referred either to SAPS or the Hawks for the criminal investigation or to the individual line ministry for disciplinary action.”

Currently, within the Public Service Commission, they verify the SMS financial disclosures; the SIU proposes to reach a point where there is a blanket proclamation allowing them to conduct lifestyle audits across the public sector, bypassing current arrangements of seconding officials to individual ministries to conduct audits.

“So currently within the Public Service Commission, they will verify the SMS, the financial disclosures. The proposal from the SIU... is that they would want to reach a point where there is a blanket proclamation that allows them to conduct lifestyle audits across the public sector, and that would then get around this current complexity around seconding officials to individual ministries to conduct these audits for them.”

The e-disclosure system currently does not automatically flag discrepancies between this year's financial disclosures and last year's disclosures; verification depends on ethics officers or Public Service Commission officials manually reviewing records.

“the system does not do is flag discrepancies between this year's disclosure and last year's disclosure”

The Public Service Commission's mandate only extends to the public service; therefore, it cannot apply the same level of scrutiny, independence, and sanctions to elected officials and judiciary members, limiting its effectiveness over broader corruption issues.

“One of the challenges with putting all of these mechanisms within the Public Service Commission is that the Public Service Commission's mandate only extends to the public service. So if we want to apply the same levels of scrutiny, independence, and sanctions to, for example, elected officials, to people within the Judiciary, etc., the Public Service Commission's mandate would not be able to perform that kind of function”