Government departments clashed over whether the role of the Scorpions would be reviewed while Deputy President Jacob Zuma's office said he would respond "within the next two weeks" to questions about alleged corruption.

Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said the government was reviewing the role and place of the Scorpions and made a concerted bid to separate the review from the Zuma scandal.

But the justice ministry - responsible for the Scorpions - said it knew nothing about Fraser-Moleketi's review.

A spokesman for the investigating unit was also puzzled by the announcement.

The Democratic Alliance slammed Fraser-Moleketi's review as "nothing less than a veiled threat" aimed at intimidating the Scorpions.

Fraser-Moleketi said in Pretoria yesterday that the review was routine: "The Scorpions have been in place for about five years. It's appropriate to do a review. In a well-functioning public service you need to review all your institutions of state, and do it regularly," she said.

But justice ministry spokesman Paul Setsetse gave a considered response which conflicted with Fraser-Moleketi's remarks.

"Quite frankly, we don't know about a review of the Scorpions. The ministry is not aware of that," said Setsetse.

"Perhaps it's something the minister of public service and administration is going to bring to our attention. We don't have details about what the minister has in mind."

Responding yesterday to persistent media inquiries about when Zuma would answer the questions, his office said in a statement: "The Deputy President's legal team is working on the matter and the replies should be ready for submission within two weeks."

While Zuma was "aware of the urgency of the matter and would like to see a speedy conclusion of the investigation", the questions were "quite extensive" and required a substantial amount of research to be done.

The unit and its head, Bulelani Ngcuka, are at the centre of a storm over the way it conducted its investigation into allegations that Zuma tried to solicit a R500 000 bribe from a company which successfully bid for part of the multi-billion rand arms deal.

Zuma has complained publicly, and to President Thabo Mbeki, that he was "bitterly aggrieved" by his treatment at the hands of the Scorpions, charging that they had violated his constitutional rights "to dignity and procedurally fair administrative action" by consistently refusing to confirm that they were investigating him despite media reports over many months to this effect.

The Scorpions finally conceded to Zuma's lawyers on May 30 that they were investigating the deputy president and submitted the list of 35 questions after he invited them to do so.

The questions appeared in the Sunday Times, to Zuma's "amazement and outrage". The Scorpions and his office are at odds over who was responsible

With acknowledgements to Charles Phahlane, Jeremy Michaels and the Cape Times.