KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu has announced possibilities of naming and shaming public servants involved in fraud and corruption. He was speaking following the release of a financial misconduct report by the Public Service Commission.
“An increase in the number of cases reported in KZN is an indication of the effectiveness of the systems that we have put in place aimed at detecting fraudulent activities and at uprooting any form of financial maladministration in all provincial government departments.”
“We have an ongoing interaction with the Office of the Auditor General (AG) Terence Nombembe as part of our efforts aimed at strengthening our early warning systems. The AGs office is working closely with the Office of the Premier in rolling out control measures across all spheres of government. Monitoring reports are compiled and presented for scrutiny by relevant authorities such as the Integrity Management Unit and the Provincial Treasury’s Internal Audit Unit. The strategic objective of these units is to integrate, coordinate and provide strategic leadership and direction for the provincial government on all matters relating supply chain management, auditing, fraud and corruption.”
“Working with a retired Judge Vuka Shabalala, provincial government has joined hands with South African Police Services, Commercial Crime Intelligence, the Hawks, the Asset Forfeiture Unit, and other organisations within the forensic fraternity to identify and investigate a variety of fraud and corruption activities involving provincial departments and other entities that serve as agents of specific departments and municipalities.”
“We will continue to work with the Public Service Commission and all chapter nine institutions in order to fight this scourge. Recently, the provincial cabinet signed a Protocol Agreement with the Public Protector of South Africa Adv Thuli Madonsela. We have committed ourselves as cabinet to ensuring that all government departments work with the office of the Public Protector on a continuous basis to deal with citizens’ complaints which include service delivery, corruption, maladminsitration and other issues. As the provincial government we recognise that the Office of the Public Protector represents the people of South Africa. Therefore, we believe that linking the citizen’s voice with transparency and accountability is at the core of good governance.”
“The commitment by Cabinet, Heads of Departments and Chief Financial Officers to adhering to this agreement is ground-breaking. We need leadership with integrity to lead government. We are making it clear that leadership at the government level is for those who are able to champion the cause of the voting public unaffected by any conflict of interest and tendency towards self-enrichment.”
“Eroding the hope about the future of our country and our people may in the long term result in instability, which we can ill afford. It will also be a source of anger and frustration for unemployed and poor people to be given an impression that their plight will not be eradicated speedily as the custodians of the relevant programmes are diverting the resources away from their intended goal of development, service delivery and creation of a better life for all.”
Enquiries:
Ndabezinhle Sibiya, Spokesperson for the Premier
Cell: 082 375 4742
