The Portfolio Committee on Police has noted the review application by the suspended National Commissioner about the findings of the Claassen Commission and says enquiries related thereto ought to be directed to The Presidency.

“Due to the fact that the Commission was appointed by the President, the Committee would like to advise that enquiries about the review application and relevant legal steps should be directed to The Presidency,” said Committee Chairperson, Mr Francois Beukman.

The Committee acknowledges that the report of the Claassen Commission was referred to it by the Speaker as provided for in the South African Police Service Act. As such, the Committee has scheduled a meeting to discuss the referral of the report this coming Thursday, 2 February 2017. The Committee will also discuss the applicable procedure of dealing with the report as the report is currently classified as confidential.

The Committee has also noted developments surrounding the report and will thus take legal advice on whether it will still be appropriate to continue discussing the report.
“It may be prudent at this stage to wait for the outcome of the review application before we proceed,” added Mr Beukman.

Granting time to the review application, according to Mr Beukman, will not stop the Committee from discharging its mandate with respect to the recommendations of the Farlam Commission.

“It should, however, be emphasised that the Committee will continue to monitor the implementation of the Farlam recommendations on public order policing by SAPS as well as the ongoing investigations by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) into the Marikana tragedy,” said Mr Beukman.

In this regard, the Committee will focus on recommendations relating to; command and control, standing operating procedures, training and communication equipment as well as protocols. The meeting in which the SAPS and IPID will be giving a progress update on the Farlam Commission recommendations is scheduled for 15 March 2017. 

The Portfolio Committee will also invite the international panel that was established to research public order policing best practices to brief the Committee on the progress made thus far at a date still to be determined.

 

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Francois Beukman