Minister tells Parliament he messed up appointment of head of the Hawks
Police Minister Nathi Nhleko has asked Parliament to condone a major error he made in appointing Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza as the head of the Hawks in 2015. Ntlemeza was appointed to head the Hawks on September 10‚ 2015. Nhleko neglected to inform Parliament formally of the appointment‚ as required by the South African Police Service Act. In a letter to National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete dated September 14‚ 2016‚ Nhleko formally informs her of his failure to follow the SAPS Act‚ and asks Parliament to condone his mistake. Were Parliament not to do so‚ the controversial Ntlemeza's appointment would be illegal and invalid. No opposition member of Parliament's police oversight committee appeared to have picked up on the year-old error. The National Assembly will have to vote on condoning the error when it meets again next month‚ but given the African National Congress majority that should not prove to be a major problem in practice. – TMG Digital/Parliamentary Bureau
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