Nqakula disbands Scorpions

2008-02-12 16:47

Cape Town - The Scorpions and the police's organised crime fighting unit would be disbanded to form a "better" unit, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said in Parliament on Tuesday.

"The Scorpions will be dissolved and the organised crime unit of the police will be phased out and a new amalgamated unit will be created," he said during a debate on President Thabo Mbeki's State Of The Nation address.

This would merge the "best experience" of the Scorpions and the police's unit under the aegis of a "single command and control point".

He said this was part of a "holistic approach" to the revamp of the criminal justice system, which would have organised crime as one of its main priorities.

"We need proper measures, better human and material resources to achieve our goals in the fight against all crime..."

He said the ANC was not "reckless" in piloting a move to "change for the better" the strategies and tactics necessary to fight crime.

"We are a dynamic organisation that has always seized the moment to rise to higher levels and that is why we continue to occupy the high moral ground," he said to howls of protest and jeers from some MPs.

"A revamped criminal justice system must be able to deal with organised crime, investigation and arrest, imprisonment and sentencing, release and rehabilitation... There must be no mercy for organised criminal gangs."

'Challenge of co-ordination'

During her speech, Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla said that a recent criminal justice system review had found "gaps" in the crime fighting chain.

"It found as one of the big weaknesses a lack of capacity and poor co-ordination, and I must say that was a similar finding by Khampepe (the commission which investigated whether the Scorpions should stay independent of the police)."

"We have to address this particular challenge of co-ordination," she said.

At this point Speaker Baleka Mbete cut her off, saying that she had already allowed her to go two minutes over her allotted time since she was discussing a weighty matter.

Mabandla uttered a startled "what?" and left the podium.

- SAPA