Deputy Minister Mathale discusses Mchunu's failure to delegate police powers

Deputy Minister for Police Cassel Mathale revealed on Tuesday that suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu has to date not assigned him delegated powers.

Mathale ascribed the non-assignment of the delegated powers to Mchunu being in the process of familiarising himself with the SAPS environment.

“We are almost at the tail end of this familiarisation process,” he said.

Mathale made the comment when he was testifying at the parliamentary inquiry probing the allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

The inquiry is probing the alleged unlawful disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), moratorium in filling vacancies in the Crime Intelligence Unit, the corrupt relationship between police leadership and members of the public, as well as political interference in the SAPS.

Mathale, who was deputy to former minister Bheki Cele, noted that Mchunu came to the police after serving in the Water and Sanitation Ministry as well as the Public Service and Administration portfolio.

He said Mchunu did not have the exposure of the SAPS like Cele, who had delegated him powers within four months of his appointment as his deputy in the sixth administration.

“He had no understanding of the system. I think he knows what needs to be done in relation to the delegation of powers.”

Mathale was assigned the responsibility over the Civilian Secretariat, IPID, PSiRA, and DPCI, among others, by Cele.

“He was appointed in 2018 as a minister of police. When I came in 2019, he was familiar with the workings of the SAPS, and that is why it was easy to delegate responsibilities,” he said about Cele.

Earlier at the start of the public hearing, Ad Hoc Committee Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane declared knowing Mathale “very well” both in the ANC and the provincial administration in Limpopo.

“I am declaring it because it is not a secret. It’s a relationship I am proud of. He contributed a lot to my own political development. It is something South Africans in that part of the country know about,” Lekganyane said.

Even DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach also declared knowing Mathale.

During his testimony, Mathale said he had known Mchunu before he came to the ministry.

“He is a comrade of mine. He was a provincial secretary for KwaZulu-Natal, and I was provincial secretary of Limpopo, though he came late when I was to exit the position. We fairly know each other politically, so he is my comrade.”

The deputy minister noted that he had not provided support to Mchunu, but he had a legal advisor, Advocate Vusi Pikoli, and chief of staff Cedrick Nkabine, who was previously a policeman.

National Commissioner Fannie Masemola also provided the necessary support.

“The minister was supported by all people who knew what needed to be done and provided that support to him,” he said.

When questioned about the briefings he had with Minister Mchunu upon his arrival, Mathale stated that his handover report focused on matters concerning SAPS, the Civilian Secretariat, IPID, PSiRA, and DPCI.

“I said we are not a perfect organisation, but there are challenges.”

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za