DA: Correctional Services deliberately avoiding Parliamentary scrutiny

Imogen Vollenhoven
20 June 2013

The Democratic Alliance said the department of Correctional Services appears to be deliberately avoiding Parliamentary scrutiny on the controversial fencing and access control contract managed by the Independent Development Trust. 

DA MP of Correctional Services James Selfe said it is a concern that maybe the department is trying to hide this contract from parliament. 

Selfe said this follows on an equally controversial and very expensive contract that was given to two companies in 2007 which costs the taxpayer over R 600 million.

“The current contract is expected to cost a further R420 million and when one is dealing with over a billion rand of taxpayers money, one needs to have proper parliamentary scrutiny and it concerns us that for the last two weeks the portfolio committee on correctional services has been unable to get a coherent set of answers from either the IDT or the department of correctional services,” highlighted Selfe.