While the squeaky-clean Jacob Zuma was being inaugurated in Pretoria as South Africa's "third democratic President" - for which taxpayers have to foot a R75-million bill, like it or not - I was studying a report highlighting the extent of corruption in national and provincial state departments.
According to an Auditor-General report, companies linked to government officials pocketed business worth over R600-million from the state in the past four years.
The report says government employees at national and provincial departments were either directors or had relatives with direct interests in firms that secured state contracts.
Between August, 2007 to July last year, the total paid by national departments to these companies was R36m-million.
The rape of the public purse by officials is far more acute at provincial level - between April, 2005 and January, 2007, business with companies linked to staff at Provincial level was worth R540m, and close on 2,300 provincial staff were involved.
In the 2005/06 financial year, two companies linked to two state officials did business with the Department of Education worth R30-million. The next largest was more than R1-million paid to four companies with links to four officials at the Department of Correctional Services.
As well as the police and Statistics SA, other guilty departments were Labour, Agriculture, Housing, and Water Affairs and Forestry.
Professor Public Services Commissioner Stan Sangweni, is quoted as saying that staff who had obtained contracts from their own departments "should be regarded as an actual conflict of interest" and that, according to the Public Service Act, state employees who received remuneration and rewards outside the state, should pay the money into the revenue account. What has Professor Sangweni done about this, or has he passed the buck to others to act?
Further details of this monumental scam between April, 2005 and January, 2007, are:
Western Cape: 65 officials in deals worth R57-million.
North West: 149 officials in deals worth R30-million.
Eastern Cape: 230 officials in deals worth R26-million.
Free State: 116 officials in deals worth R14-million.
Limpopo: 929 officials in deals worth R270-million.
Northern Cape: 29 officials in deals worth R4.3-million.
Gauteng: 179 officials in deals worth R24.8-million.
Mpumalanga : 573 officials in deals worth R115-million.
As President Zuma has promised South Africa that he will tackle corruption head-on, I have sent these horrifying statistics to his Office for comment.
I don't think, though, that I will be holding my breath for a response.
DA Councillor Terry Herbst, Port Elizabeth.
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Eh-heh. Doberman, please jazz this up with your usual bitemarks. Thanks.
'Sad reality' of BEE
Sun, 31 May 2009 08:28
The current recession should offer the country a cause for sombre reflection on the need to do the right things, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday.
"We are required to do more in a climate unfavourable to us; a difficult economic climate not of our own choosing.
"(This is) a cause for sombre reflection on the need to do the right things to get our country back on track," Zuma said at a National Union of Mineworkers gala dinner in Midrand.
He said central to this was spending well over R700-billion allocated for infrastructure projects in the next decade.
"We are going to use the task team made up of labour, government and business to forge a partnership that will make this country withstand the current global economic turmoil, as we did in the so-called emerging markets crisis in 1998."
On transformation, Zuma said the mining sector must be a shining example of transformation in South Africa.
Soldier on with transformation
"It is clear that this fourth democratic government will have to build on the work of the previous administrations to soldier on with the transformation of the mining industry."
He said government would work with key stakeholders such as Num, to ensure that people benefit from the exploitation of mineral resources.
He said although Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment has taken place in the mining sector, the "sad reality" was that only a few have embraced its spirit.
"We have to do everything in our power to ensure than millions of our people benefit from these transactions."
He said one the biggest challenges that was highlighted during the party's election campaign was the role of communities in the mining activities that are taking place largely in Limpopo and the North West.
"It is clear that a significant section of our people feel that despite progressive legislation, the mining industry and government are not doing enough to ensure that they too, fully reap the benefits of the mining activities that are taking place."
The scrutiny of government
Meanwhile, Zuma said there was a need to "vigorously support and entrench" a culture of zero harm in the mining industry.
"The safety record of our mines has become a central issue that will be placed under the scrutiny of government. This situation cannot be tolerated anymore."
He said all stakeholders must work even harder to put an end to the escalating number of mine deaths.
A total of 68 miners have died since the beginning of the year, while 71 died at the same time last year.
"This is not a good picture at all," said Zuma.
Sapa
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