Retired police Brigadier Jap Burger has apologised to Parliaments Standing Committee on Public Accounts, about the perception that he was trying to avoid appearing before it. Today, after being summoned, Burger explained why he had not previously accepted the committee’s invitation. One of them was that he didn’t trust being adequately represented by a SAPS-appointed lawyer. Burger also suggested corruption cover-ups within the police service.
Burger served in the SAPS for 40 years, 6 months and 8 days. He explained why he didn’t appear before the committee when first invited. I was invited, I was not ordered, and I wouldn’t be protected by a SAPS representative,”
Burger appeared on the committee’s radar after he was mentioned by former Eskom boss Andre de Ruyter during his own appearance before SCOPA.
At the time, de Ruyter said he had reported to Burger the gross corruption, maladministration and criminal cartels involving senior politicians at Eskom.
SCOPA wanted to hear Burger’s side of the story while Burger denied getting this information from de Ruyter. He did share that corruption is being covered up at Eskom. He also shed light on how corruption busters within SAPS are viewed. “The organisation does not favour you if you work on corruption,”
He referred to corruption investigations being thwarted. “We are still under state capture, we have not been freed, and there is a serious problem with compliance,”
The committee thanked him for clarifying some issues and said that if MPs had spoken to him earlier, they would be much further along in their own oversight. Asked if he had any closing remarks, Burger told the MPs that South Africa still had a long way to go to restore the integrity of the country.
Source: eNCA
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