By OBAKENG MAJE
South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in the North West said it commends the law enforcement agencies and ANC efforts in combating corruption According to SANCO provincial spokesperson, Mzukisi Jam said, they have long been vocal in condemning corruption within government, particularly municipalities, which often leads to the failure of efficient and effective service delivery.
Jam said this pervasive issue stems primarily from maladministration, fraud and corruption, significantly impacting on the delivery of a better life promised to communities and the country’s developmental state agenda.
“As the progressive civic organisation determined to assist in fighting corruption in the province, we welcome the recent efforts made by law enforcement agencies in combating fraud and corruption.
“The recent arrests of former Municipal Manager of Ditsobotla Local Municipality, Tsietsi Isaac Shema and the municipality’s Project Manager, Richard Thamsanqa Mtshali, to be specific,” he said.
Jam further said these commendable achievements of arrests were conducted by the Hawks in Mahikeng and Zeerust, following an investigation into allegations of fraud and violations of supply chain processes. He added that the investigation revealed that the duo awarded a tender worth R760 000 to a service provider for the supply and installation of Clear View fences and gates at Biesiesvlei.
“However, it was found that only a small portion of the area was fenced, yet the municipality was invoiced for work supposedly completed in May 2021. SANCO also acknowledges the ANC provincial leadership for swiftly responding to corruption allegations against some of the public servants and its government deployees.
“Their responsiveness, including addressing SANCO’s calls for the removal of corrupt individuals tarnishing the ANC’s name and integrity, is appreciated. The ANC’s “Step Aside” policy is also a progressive initiative, which we highly commend as is slowly ensuring that corruption perpetuated by politicians, is a thing of the past in our government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jam said they have raised concerns about the shenanigans against the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality, mayor Tshireletso Marabutse and the Municipality Manager. He said the duo are accused of falsifying assessment reports, contributing to irregular appointments, including that of the Municipal Manager.
“This subsequently led to the unrest and the eventual closure of the municipality premises for over three weeks, depriving the community of services for more than a month in the process.
“SANCO welcomes the ANC’s decision to place the mayor on special leave pending a council meeting to determine their fate. While SANCO urges the ANC to decisively address corruption among its deployees, we call on
the leadership to look into all the reports of corruption allegations against its members and urge them to also deal with all the ward councillors implicated in the Kgalema Motlhanthe report,” said Jam.
He said SANCO continues to advocate for the ANC government to commission a forensic investigation into all the corruption allegations in government, including those involving the executive mayor of the City of Matlosana.
Jam said due to the failure of the municipal council in dealing with this situation, they requested for an urgent intervention by the provincial leadership of the ANC, so that the municipality can start delivering services to the community.
“The civic organization also urged the leadership to look into the allegations against the executive mayor of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, Khumalo Molefe. SANCO equally likes to give credit where it’s due thereby commending the ANC government’s efforts to strengthen the fight against crime and corruption.
“This includes steps that have already been taken to put 20,000 more police personnel on the streets, enhancing the capacity of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and courts, establishing specialized units and combating illegal mining and other priority crimes.
“The civic organisation remains committed to actively playing a role and engaging communities to assist in rooting out corruption from the government, which undermines the gains of democracy and shared prosperity,” he said.
TaungDailyNews 