Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal legislature has yet to locate a copy of the commission report into the deaths of aspirant traffic officers in Pietermaritzburg in 2012 – despite it being tabled by the Office of the Premier a year ago.
The failure to locate the report has made it impossible for the transport portfolio committee to scrutinise it and for the legislature to debate it.
The legislature has no record that the report was tabled in line with its procedures.
At a portfolio committee this week, DA MPL Rafeek Shah asked why the report had not been sent to the committee. “This is highly unacceptable. It flies in the face of this house. It is absolutely unacceptable.”
Committee chairman Mxolisi Kaunda said he and committee member, MPL Siboniso Duma, who is also a whip, had taken up the matter with Speaker Lydia Johnson and leader of government business, Transport MEC Willies Mchunu, who had promised to follow up.
He said the whip’s office had discussed the matter, but a debate on the report could not happen: “You can’t debate without having a report formally presented to us,” Kaunda said.
He added that Johnson’s office had confirmed it had checked the records, but could not find the report.
“They look at records. It was not there. It was submitted, but it did not follow procedures.”
Kaunda said Johnson’s office had made a commitment to get the report to the committee.
Daily News