Government must ruthlessly implement a policy of zero-tolerance to any form of corruption, fraud or looting of public money, says the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).
This comes after the Department of Communications yesterday announced that the auditor-general will be investigating allegations that a man reportedly linked to communications minister Dina Pule misappropriated millions in sponsorship funds from the ICT Indaba that took place this month.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) also said this week it will investigate the allegations of a R1.4 million kickback given to Human Settlements director-general Thabane Zulu, for an automated payments tender.
Selfish pursuits
Cosatu says it is shocked at the allegations concerning Pule and demands a thorough, independent investigation to establish whether there is any evidence that they are true.
“If so, it will once again highlight the danger of an arrangement between a public representative and a private company run by a close friend or family member. That is why the federation continues to demand that no state official should ever be involved, directly or indirectly, with any private company that does business with the state, through outsourcing or tendering. There is an inevitable danger of a conflict of interest, which opens the door to the looting of public funds for private enrichment.”
The federation adds that this is why it's opposed to the increased use of tendering and outsourcing of services, which could and should be performed directly by the public service workers.
The problem is well captured in the ANC Discussion Paper on Organisational Renewal, to be debated next week at the policy conference, when it says “the negative effects of incumbency have severely impacted on the character of our movement as a national liberation movement and disciplined force of the left”.
“The neo-liberal ideological paradigm has also hugely eroded the core values of selflessness, integrity, solidarity and genuine comradeship. The selfish pursuit of self-interest and factional interest are now placed above the interests of the entire organisation and the people as a whole.”
Vulnerable theft
The Democratic Alliance (DA) agrees that a policy of zero tolerance should be adopted when it comes to corruption.
Shadow minister of social development Mike Waters says it is imperative to ascertain whether officials are enriching themselves at the expense of members of the society.
The DA has welcomed the official commencement of the Hawks investigation. The Serious Economic Offenses Unit will be investigating the allegations of tender fraud.
Shortly before the tender award of R10 billion to Cash Paymaster Systems to administer grant payments across all nine provinces, Zulu, who was also a member of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) tender adjudication committee, allegedly received a R1.4 million deposit into his personal account.
“Confirmation received by the Hawks is a first step in ensuring that alleged corruption and maladministration, which robs the most vulnerable people in society, is eradicated.
“Social grants are an important source of income for families and caregivers to meet the most basic needs - such as food, education and clothing. It provides an indispensable safety net to more than 15 million needy South Africans and it's, therefore, essential that their needs remain paramount in decisions around how this investigation process is managed,” says Waters.
Corruption prone
This year, R111.2 billion will be distributed through the social grant system. Last year, a reply to a DA parliamentary question revealed that between 2005 and 2011, SASSA had lost R238 million as a result of fraud and corruption. Over the same period, the entity had to deal with 21 817 cases of social grant fraud.
Former SASSA CEO Fezile Makiwane resigned in 2010, following a probe into tender irregularities and financial mismanagement at the organisation. Makiwane's resignation signalled the agency's inability to deal with crippling levels of corruption in the social grant system.
During her budget speech last month, social development minister Bathabile Dlamini said the social grant system is prone to leakages and fraudulent activities. “To mitigate this, government has allocated, over the MTEF, an amount of R30 million for setting up an inspectorate institution with a mandate to monitor the integrity of the grant administration system, to ensure its credibility. The inspectorate should be fully functional by 2015.
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