Call for land reform dept probe update

2011-09-21 16:33

Cape Town - Parliament needs an urgent progress report on a probe into irregularities in the rural development and land reform department, the DA said on Wednesday.

It had been six months since the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) began looking into the matter, DA spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko said.

Parliament's rural development and land reform portfolio committee had yet to receive a progress report on this "crucial investigation".

Mazibuko said Minister Gugile Nkwinti "admitted" on Tuesday to the committee that the land reform green paper did not "address the department's internal challenges, as there were too many".

The DA would ask committee chairperson Stone Sizani to invite the SIU to provide it with a status report on the investigation, Mazibuko said.

A proclamation issued by President Jacob Zuma in March this year mandated the SIU to investigate allegations of serious financial mismanagement in the department. These included applications for and awarding of grants, land transfers, payment of funds to beneficiaries, irregular spending, and wasteful and fruitless spending.

- SAPA