Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem says President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to intervene urgently at the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to stop its "imminent collapse".
"The department is leaderless and the entire leadership is implicated in the Bosasa corruption scandal," he said.
"Angelo Agrizzi named and implicated senior DCS officials who were on the payroll of Bosasa and made sure they keep the corrupt Bosasa contracts alive," he said, referring to the testimony of former Bosasa chief operations officer before the Zondo commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture.
"To our dismay these officials are still at work and not suspended," said Bloem.
Bloem said officials must "stand aside until the matter is resolved because the allegations against them are very serious".
Bloem also called on Ramaphosa to immediately suspend Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha, his deputy Thabang Makwetla, and all those implicated in the Bosasa corruption scandal.
Senior leadership 'tainted'
"It cannot be business as usual. Ramaphosa must appoint an interim leadership at the department."
Former prisons boss Linda Mti was heavily implicated by Agrizzi. According to Agrizzi, Mti was paid by Bosasa chief executive Gavin Watson to keep contracts between the department and the company going.
"The integrity and character of the department is at stake. The minister, deputy minister and majority of the senior leadership are tainted and can't lead such a complex and sensitive department with dignity," Bloem further said.
Earlier this month, Mti, along with former correctional services chief financial officer Patrick Gillingham, Bosasa official Andries van Tonder, former Bosasa senior manager Frans Vorster and current Bosasa staff member Carlos Bonafacio were granted R20 000 bail after appearing at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria on charges of corruption, money laundering and fraud.
Meanwhile, Makwetla has applied to appear before the state capture inquiry. He said this was not because he has been implicated in testimony, but to "make a modest contribution towards efforts to arrest the threat of a backward slide in our national transformation project".
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