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Although the Correctional Services National Commissioner, Xolisa Sibeko has been cleared of wrong doing by a disciplinary hearing concerning the department's housing scandal, and is to remain on special leave until the Minister considers her options, many questions remain unanswered.

This matter has been ongoing since July and since that time, the Department of Correctional Service has had an acting National Commissioner and the suspended National Commissioner has been on paid leave, which is likely to continue into the new year. How much has this episode cost and how much will the costs escalate by the time it is eventually settled?

Another major question that must be asked is why Sibeko's counterpart, Regional Correctional Services Commissioner in Gauteng, Thozama Mqobi-Balfour (the former Minister's wife) has managed to escape any kind of disciplinary action. Both Mqobi-Balfour and Sibeko were implicated in the housing scandal - for renting luxury accommodation at the expense of the taxpayer, when they had departmental accommodation available to them, yet only Sibeko has been subjected to any kind of departmental action.

At the time, the Democratic Alliance (DA) insisted that the matter of whether or not the former Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour approved his wife's accommodation in the Correctional Services housing scandal, be added to the Public Service Commission's investigation. This matter seems to have been swept under the carpet.

I will be contacting the Minister to ensure that all parties involved follow due process, that there is no favoritism towards the former minister's wife and that this matter be resolved as swiftly as possible.