Note to Editors: Please see attached soundbite by Toby Chance MP
- Dysfunctional South African Bureau of Standards destroys crucial evidence while under independent probe.
- DA calls for immediate suspension of implicated executives by Minister Tau.
- The entity’s stability is crucial to maintaining quality assurance for manufactured products.
The Democratic Alliance calls on Minister Parks Tau to suspend top executives at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), after evidence has emerged of the destruction of documents that could be crucial to the ongoing investigation into governance and management failures at the institution.
On an oversight visit to the SABS this morning, I was shown video footage of documents being shredded, suggesting attempts to remove the paper trail that could identify the culprits. Due to the sensitive nature of this evidence, which I became aware of on Thursday, it was not shared on social media platforms. This was the first time I had an opportunity to verify the authenticity of the footage first hand.
On Thursday, on learning about the document shredding, I informed Ms Elsje Oosthuizen from TSU International, who Minister Tau appointed in February to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations of governance and management failures at the SABS. She assured me that members of her team were on site and were diligently conducting their work.
All of the allegations from whistleblowers that have surfaced since August 2024 have pointed to the top management of the SABS, who are either acting in their positions or were recently appointed. Before his term as Acting CEO expired at the end of February, Mr Lizo Makele’s appointment was extended for a further month by a board no doubt hoping that Minister Tau would announce a full time appointment before March 31st . This has not happened, rendering the SABS leaderless.
In view of the continuing disruptions to operations reported to myself and other members of the Portfolio Committee in recent weeks, the removal of Mr Makele and other senior colleagues implicated in the allegations is a necessary precautionary step to prevent any further tampering or destruction of evidence vital to the investigation.
The DA calls upon Minister Tau and the SABS board to act swiftly to protect this vital institution from further damage. The re-building of the SABS cannot happen soon enough, with new management urgently required to fix the mess that now threatens the viability of the institution.