JOHANNESBURG - The Madlanga Commission has resumed hearings after an extended recess.
Nearly 40 witnesses have testified.
An interim report has been sent to the President with recommendations for immediate action, as mandated. Yet the public hasn’t seen the report.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told media in December that the interim report will not be released to the public. He said only the final report will be made public.
“The reasoning is quite simple to understand. Some of the witnesses who have come before the commission are going to be called back again to continue with their evidence. It’s not going to be helpful to start debating on something that’s half-baked. We need to allow the process to be completed,” Magwenya said at the time.
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But legal expert Mpumelelo Zikalala says this removes all accountability.
Zikalala added:
The president is supposed to tell us what those reports contain to allow us as members of the public to know what the problems are within our public institutions.
“Most importantly, are you implementing what the commission is telling you? Is it effective? Is this the value for money? Is this something that needs to be accountable at this point in time, or should we wait?”
“If you are going to be secretive with what you've received, you remove the very accountability in which you must be able to do on a daily basis as the presidency, you limit us as members of the public in terms of holding you accountable in terms of what has been provided by the commission.”
Zikalala said there is no plausible reason why no explanation has been given by the Presidency as to how those implicated in the report will be dealt with.
“It’s almost as if it's business as usual. The silence is too loud."