TRC Final Report

Volume 1

Chapter 11

Part FinanceDept

Subsection 3

Capital outlay

25 The next major item of expenditure was the Commission’s projected capital outlay. It was clear that the Commission would not be able to fulfil its mandate without an extensive information management system. The Commission entered a contract with an international expert on information management from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The consultant, together with the Commission’s head of information systems, conceptualised and developed the database and laid the groundwork for the necessary hardware and support infrastructure.

Travel and accommodation arrangements

26 The Commission was necessarily a highly mobile organisation and as such required extensive travel arrangements. To meet its needs, it called for limited tenders for discounted air travel, hotel accommodation and car hire facilities. The Commission also established its own in-house travel agency, which was contracted out on the basis of limited tenders.

27 Commission staff, particularly investigation and logistics support staff, had extensive transport requirements. Thus, the Commission entered into extensive contracts with an international motor vehicle dealership to purchase over fifty motor vehicles.

Space, furniture and office equipment

28 Offices were obtained for the various regions, and furniture and office equipment were procured locally, using a limited tender process.

Security arrangements

29 Because of its high political profile, the Commission faced unique security risks. As a result of this, extensive security arrangements, equipment and infrastructure were put in place in order to safeguard premises, assets and lives.

30 Also on a limited tender basis, surveillance equipment, x-ray machines, bomb scanners, security disks and access control systems were acquired and installed at the Commission’s national and regional offices. The expertise of consultants from the South African Police and other state security services was extensively utilised.

Translation and interpretation services

31 The Commission also set the precedent for a fairly new concept in South African governmental structures: the introduction of a simultaneous interpretation service. The founding Act provided for persons to be able to use the language of their choice when accessing the Commission. This presented an interesting challenge to the Commission, given South Africa’s eleven official languages. Special equipment was imported from Belgium, and a special team of simultaneous interpreters was recruited and trained. After a limited tendering process, the University of the Free State Language Facilitation Program was engaged to provide this very specialised service.

Internal communication facilities

32 One of the keys to the success of the Commission was effective communication. To achieve this, the Commission installed fax machines and e-mail on its computer systems. Cellular telephones were acquired and played a strategic role in facilitating the work of the Investigation Unit and the Witness Protection Unit. A local cellular telephone service provider also assisted the Commission with free use of eighteen cellular telephones.