Madonsela irked by NYDA tactics

THE public protector is running out of patience with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

Thuli Madonsela is still unable to complete her investigation of the NYDA's 2010 "kissing festival" as additional information from the agency is not forthcoming.

Madonsela's office blames the agency for most of the delays and says the NYDA has been uncooperative.

She is now threatening to enforce her subpoena and search and seizure powers to force the agency and other entities to provide the outstanding information.

"Apart from the investigation being a complex one, delays mainly emanated from the NYDA. The institution's co-operation with the processes of the public protector has been unsatisfactory," said Oupa Segalwe, her spokesman.

He added: "The public protector would like to remind organs of state that they have a responsibility to co-operate with the office's processes in terms of the constitution.

"Organs of state also need to be aware of the public protector's subpoena and search and seizure powers, which the institution hardly uses because it strives to employ an inquisitorial, rather than an adversarial, approach."

But Steven Ngubeni, the NYDA's axed chief executive, told journalists last week that he was confident that Madonsela had received all of the information she had asked for from the agency.

"When an investigation by the public protector started, we cooperated fully. We provided all the documents that the public protector requested from us.

"Where we did not understand, we sought clarity because we understood it to be a complex legal issue," Ngubeni said.

"I can, with confidence [and] without any doubt, confirm that in relation to the festival, all the questions that were asked by the public protector were responded to."

When contacted, NYDA chairman Yershen Pillay also said that according to the agency's company secretary, all the information that had been requested had been provided.

Madonsela is also waiting for more information from the NYDA relating to a separate investigation of the alleged abuse of agency credit cards by former agency chairman Andile Lungisa and Pillay, who was his deputy at the time.

"The public protector has received information regarding expenditure in this matter, but there is still some outstanding information that [she] requires in order to carry on with the investigation," Segalwe said.