Durban - A burglary at the KZN Public Servants Association (PSA) - where a laptop computer and desktop monitor were taken - will not affect the Nkandla-linked disciplinary hearings against 12 civil servants set to begin on Tuesday.
Claude Naicker, the PSA’s provincial manager, confirmed to the Daily News on Tuesday morning the Friday burglary of his equipment. He said the employees - who had been implicated for misconduct during the probe into President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead’s security upgrade - would still be represented by his team.
They face a slew of charges, including financial misconduct; allowing irregular expenditure or fruitless and wasteful expenditure; prejudicing the administration of the department and; misconduct for failing to ensure contractors were appointed in a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner.
All the employees deny any wrongdoing. Naicker received news of the break-in from Anton Lembede (Smith) Street’s Old Mutual Building’s security team on Saturday; 10 offices were ransacked but only the two items were taken.
DVD players and computers were ignored by the intruders.
“Look, the hearing will not really be affected. There is nothing on my laptop related to the matter. (We) interviewed our clients (12 Public Works employees) last week but we only have hard copies of them. Nothing had been captured into my computer yet,” he said.
Naicker said he had requested that the lawyer of the employees request a postponement on Tuesday.
“While the hearings start today, others will be held sporadically. They are facing a number of charges and we need the documents detailing the evidence brought by the employer. We then have to canvas our members about the contents of the documents and we need time to do that.”
The matter would be postponed for “a week or two”.
Naicker was reluctant to confirm that the offices had been targeted for anything “Nkandla-related”, or that there might have been an “inside element”.
Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, said a case of housebreaking had been opened at Durban Central police station after business premises at the PSA Union were broken into in Anton Lembede street.
Daily News