3.5.9 An organisational restructuring proposal was submitted to the former Minister of Correctional Services in 2011/12. According to the 2011/12 annual report the proposed restructuring was aimed at addressing "serious functional misalignments", the accounting officer's "unmanageable span of command" and to correctly align strategic and operations management functions. The phased implementation of the restructuring commenced at the most senior level on 1 June 2012. The most notable change in the DCS' structure is the creation of a chief operations officer (COO) post. The COO reports directly to the National Commissioner, and is responsible for the management of the six regions. Labour unions raised serious concerns about the expanded organisational structure which is due for implementation in the 2013/14 financial year, but on which labour unions had not been consulted.