From : Mr Eddie Trent
To : Mr Francois Beaukman
14 March 2005
Re: Alleged changes to the final draft of the report of the Joint Investigating Team report (JIT-report)
As you will recall after certain documents were handed over to Mr Richard Young reports appeared in two respected newspapers alleging that the Audit General had made substantive changes to the J I T report on the instruction of the executive (cabinet).
I subsequently wrote to Ms Barbara Hogan requesting that this matter be put on the agenda of the ad-hoc committee. The ad-hoc committee has now discussed this matter on three occasions and not once has anybody ever suggested that this matter should be swept under the carpet. However as a result of a legal opinion from .the secretary of parliament (a copy of which is included in this letter) the status and the appropriateness of ad-hoc committee to deal with this matter has come into question. The ad-hoc committee has therefore decided that this matter should stand over until such time as a permanent over-sight mechanism has been established in terms of the Public Audit Act.
The ad-hoc committee undertook to write to the speaker to expedite this process whilst at the same time it was conceded that I am well within my rights to follow any other course of action that I deem appropriate.
Given the fact that the legal opinion indicates that matter could justifiably be investigated by SCOPA it is clear that SCOPA would be acting well within its mandate to deal with it. In light of this I have decided to request that you place this matter on the agenda of the next plenary sitting
of SCOPA.
Without motivating my case.. further I wish to make just the following few points.
I wish to make it absolutely clear that I have never suggested that the Auditor-General is guilty of any offence, my primary concern is that the integrity and creditability of the office of the Auditor-General is under attack and these allegations cannot be left unanswered without having a further negative effect on the integrity of his office.
I believe that it is now common knowledge that changes were made to the report either at the instruction or suggestion of the executive. I refer you in this regard to replies to questions in the House last Tuesday by Minister Lekota. The only question now is whether or not it was justifiable to make these changes and whether the changes in fact were designed to put the government in a better light.
Finally when a credible newspaper such as the Business Day goes as far as to demand resignation of the Auditor-General (see enclosed editorial) then I believe we are dealing with a very serious problem and I believe that it is incumbent upon SCOPA to discuss investigate these claims further, if we
fail to do so then a vital institution such as the Auditor-General will continue to be undermined I thank you in anticipation for your co-operation in this matter. Kind regards
EDDIE TRENT
(submitted electronically without signature)