The eThekwini Municipality, police and the Department of Social Development are expected to submit their written responses to the public protector’s preliminary report into the Glebelands Hostel killings by mid-April, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said yesterday.
She was speaking after her community consultation session in the Mkhambathini Municipality yesterday.
“There has been a mistake made by many thinking that former public protector (Thuli) Madonsela’s report into hostel killings was final. It was not; it was provisional.
“We have since issued a directive to all the affected parties in the findings of the investigation, and we have promised the provincial legislature that we will table the report once it is available. All the parties had undertaken to submit their reports by mid-April,” Mkhwebane said.
The public protector’s office was petitioned by, among other concerned lobby groups, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, to investigate. There were more than 50 deaths between 2014 and 2015.
In her report titled “Stop the Carnage”, Madonsela had said the SAPS and metro police had failed to protect and secure the hostel dwellers and their belongings.
During the consultation yesterday, Mkhwebane was bombarded by requests to investigate the deduction of monies from social grant recipients by service providers for airtime, funeral cover or loans.
Mkhwebane assured the complainants that their concerns would be addressed.
“We have an ongoing investigation into these deductions and it is almost complete. What we get from the Minister of Social Development is that Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) does not co-operate when the department enquires about the deductions,” she said.
Mkhwebane said they would send the department correspondence soliciting detailed information on these deductions.
“We also want to know from CPS whether they think the way they handle people’s social security money is in line with the laws of the country,” she said.