Katlholo is free to go to court - Mthimkhulu
Tymon Katlholo, the suspended Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), can go to court if he feels aggrieved concerning his indefinite suspension, Assistant Minister for State Presidency, Dumizweni Mthimkhulu has said.
Although nothing has been said regarding how far investigations are, there is a possibility that Katlholo who has been employed on a 36-months contract ending in August may remain suspended until the end of his contract.
In Parliament, a platform where Katlholo, who still effectively remains public servant has no say, Mthimkhulu called on him to go to court if he believes that the suspension is unlawful.
Mthimkhulu, who was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Serowe South, Leapetswe Lesedi further said if Katlholo cannot challenge his suspension it means there is something that he thinks is worth being suspended for.
Katlholo was suspended on the 2nd of June 2022, and eight months later, a disciplinary hearing or proceedings have not commenced yet as they await investigation results on the matter.
“I can confirm that the Director-General is suspended with full pay in compliance with legislative requirements”.
He said Section 5 of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act, amendment of 2013, is couched in mandatory and peremptory terms hence the Minister is the one mandated to prescribe the conditions of service of the Directorate.
He explained that in other jurisdictions the world over, different conditions of service are either prescribed by a tribunal, through recommendations to the President or by the Minister.
'You will appreciate that the independence of the Directorate only extends to its operations and the DG has that independence in terms of the Act in particular in carrying out his functions under the Corruption and Economic Crime Act as per section 4(3) of the Act.
“The decisions, including investigations by the Director-General are not subject to the direction and control of any person or authority”.
He cited section 4(2) of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act, which provides that, “the Director-General shall be responsible for the direction and administration of the Directorate”.
In addition, he said the Directorate is a public office subject to the Public Service Act, and therefore that the DG in his direction and administration of the Directorate must ensure compliance with that Act.
Mthimkhulu said Botswana has not declined in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI). In fact, according to the 2022 Corruption Perception Index published in January 2023, Botswana has gone up by five points with a score of 60 compared to the year 2021 when she fared badly and scored 55.
According to the Transparency International website, the decline in 2021 was attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic which tested transparency levels in Western Europe and the European Union countries, usually viewed as clean when it comes to corruption.
The website reported that as a result of the pandemic “even historically high-performing countries showed signs of decline”. Botswana was not spared by the negative effects of the pandemic.
“The trends of corruption get complex every now and then and the perpetrators are always ahead of us, but our efforts have significantly improved as shown by the upward score of 60,” Mthimkhulu said.