The special tribunal established to recover some R14.7 billion looted from the state is expected to be operational by October, the head of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Correctional Services Tuesday.
Advocate Andy Mothibi said a “governance committee” has been formed to look at matters arising from the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture as well as other commissions.
He added that the Committee has engaged the NPA in this regard and is certain that “some of those actions that were not sanctioned some time back will now be receiving appropriate action.
“There are a few of them we are busy with,” Mothibi said.
He said the special tribunal, established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February, should be operational by October, but added that this was dependent on the Department of Justice sorting out logistics.
A preliminary site for the tribunal has been identified at the South Gauteng High Court.
“SIU saddled with almost R500 million debt”
The SIU head also revealed that his unit is saddled with almost R500 million of debt because government departments and entities are not paying for work done.
Mothibi said the outstanding debt could pose a risk to the unit’s functioning if it was not addressed soon.
Despite efforts to recoup the money, the debt has ballooned, with the SIU saying this made it impossible for some critical investigators’ posts to be filled.
