No decision has been taken by the government to remove the Scorpions from the control of the national prosecuting authority and it should be noted that the constitution made the cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice responsible for it.

So said Justice Minister Penuell Maduna in reply to a question from Democratic Alliance Justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer.

He noted that in terms of section 179 (6) of the constitution the cabinet member responsible "must exercise final responsibility over the prosecuting authority".

The question follows President Thabo Mbeki's comment that one of the proposals is that the unit falls under the police - and thus the safety and security minister - rather than under the justice department.

He was speaking last month in the context of the Scorpion investigation of Deputy President Jacob Zuma for allegedly accepting a bribe from an arms deal company.

The Scorpions subsequently opted not to prosecute the deputy president.

With acknowledgements to INet Bridge and the Cape Times.