Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Xola Nqola, has raised concerns over the SIU’s funding model, warning that financial constraints could undermine corruption investigations and accountability efforts.
Image: Phando Jikelo/ParliamentRSA
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development has warned that the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) funding model is crippling its ability to investigate corruption, with MPs raising concerns that the unit is expected to recover costs from the same institutions it investigates.
The warning emerged during the committee’s engagement with the SIU on its annual performance plan and budget for the 2026/27 financial year, where members heard that the unit’s allocated grant funding of R487.7 million falls far below its operational requirements.
Committee chairperson Xola Nqola said members were unanimous in their concerns about the SIU’s financial model.
“The SIU acts on proclamations issued by the President to investigate maladministration, yet it is required to recover its costs from the very institutions it investigates,” Nqola said.
Despite the financial strain, the SIU said it plans to recover cash or assets worth R2 billion in the current financial year, up from R1 billion in 2025/26.
The unit has also set a target of R6 billion in contracts to be set aside or declared invalid, compared with R5 billion in the previous financial year.
The committee heard that the SIU had previously been owed more than R1 billion by state institutions under investigation.
However, intervention by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development resulted in the recovery of R643 million, the SIU’s highest annual recovery from debtors to date.
The SIU nevertheless warned that ongoing difficulties in collecting payments from entities under investigation continued to threaten its financial sustainability, particularly as some municipalities were bankrupt or insolvent.
Members also heard that the SIU’s grant income relative to its total budgeted costs is declining from around 50% to below 40%.
Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, the SIU plans to increase its staff complement from 822 employees in 2025/26 to 1,037 by 2028/29 to deal with increasingly complex investigations and maintain specialised legal, forensic and digital expertise.
However, the unit cautioned that current funding projections would make it impossible to meet that staffing target.
Nqola said the committee would request a dedicated presentation on the SIU’s funding model and broader fiscal constraints.
“This will enable Parliament to consider how best to support the SIU,” he said.
The committee also raised concerns over whistleblower protection after the SIU classified the risk as “medium” instead of “high”.
“As corruption increases, individuals who come forward to expose wrongdoing face serious threats, including violence and, in some cases, loss of life. This creates a climate of fear and undermines public confidence in the state’s ability to provide adequate protection,” Nqola said.
He added that existing legislation, including the Protected Disclosures Act, might not provide sufficient safeguards for whistleblowers.
The committee further agreed on the need for a joint engagement with the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to address delays in processing SIU referrals.
“We must find ways to eliminate bottlenecks in the referral system. Otherwise, the SIU risks becoming an institution focused on recoveries without consequence management, where wrongdoing goes unpunished,” Nqola said.
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