DA slams silence on Shaik's parole
20 January 2010, 10:39
By Carien Du Plessis
Political Bureau
The DA has labelled the clampdown by prison bosses on the issue of convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik's medical parole "a most unhelpful attitude".
DA spokesman on correctional services James Selfe has again urged Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to review the matter of Shaik's parole.
In a letter to Mapisa-Nqakula, he said Shaik's parole had to be reviewed because it was in the public interest, "given the number of reported irregularities that have emerged".
It was also necessary because "it affects the credibility of the parole system as a whole".
A communications clampdown by the Department of Correctional Services at the weekend followed a report in the Mail & Guardian, which stated Shaik's medical records showed that he had not met the formal requirements for medical parole.
The parole was apparently granted to Shaik in March after a combination of pressure from his private physicians and an erroneous claim from a Correctional Services doctor that his condition was "terminal".
Correctional Services spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga said there had been enough communication about the Shaik issue. He said the department had "other work to do" and was "done communicating about this".
Selfe, however, said the public "is still in the dark about whether or not this matter will be reviewed, and these issues most certainly have not been communicated".
"The only way that this matter can be put to rest is for it to be reviewed. If there is nothing untoward about Mr Shaik's parole, then the minister has nothing to lose and everything to gain by sending it for review," Selfe said.
The ministry has, however, repeatedly refused to review Shaik's parole, even though National Council for Correctional Services head Judge Siraj Desai has said parole cases like Shaik's damage the credibility of the prisons parole system.
Political Bureau
The DA has labelled the clampdown by prison bosses on the issue of convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik's medical parole "a most unhelpful attitude".
DA spokesman on correctional services James Selfe has again urged Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to review the matter of Shaik's parole.
In a letter to Mapisa-Nqakula, he said Shaik's parole had to be reviewed because it was in the public interest, "given the number of reported irregularities that have emerged".
It was also necessary because "it affects the credibility of the parole system as a whole".
A communications clampdown by the Department of Correctional Services at the weekend followed a report in the Mail & Guardian, which stated Shaik's medical records showed that he had not met the formal requirements for medical parole.
The parole was apparently granted to Shaik in March after a combination of pressure from his private physicians and an erroneous claim from a Correctional Services doctor that his condition was "terminal".
Correctional Services spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga said there had been enough communication about the Shaik issue. He said the department had "other work to do" and was "done communicating about this".
Selfe, however, said the public "is still in the dark about whether or not this matter will be reviewed, and these issues most certainly have not been communicated".
"The only way that this matter can be put to rest is for it to be reviewed. If there is nothing untoward about Mr Shaik's parole, then the minister has nothing to lose and everything to gain by sending it for review," Selfe said.
The ministry has, however, repeatedly refused to review Shaik's parole, even though National Council for Correctional Services head Judge Siraj Desai has said parole cases like Shaik's damage the credibility of the prisons parole system.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Pretoria News on January 20, 2010
Cape Town
