The article titled: "D-G in row over R35 000 bribe for official" in the Sowetan newspaper dated 29 November 2011 is misleading and devoid of the truth. This article presents yet another flagrant misrepresentation of facts by the Sowetan.
For the record, the Office of the Premier has taken action against everyone who has been charged for financial misconduct without fear, favour or prejudice. There is no back-log of disciplinary matters in the Office of the Premier whatsoever.
It is regrettable that the Sowetan chose to rely on fallacious allegations notwithstanding attempts made by the Office of the Premier to provide accurate information. On the matter in question, the Office of the Premier wish to assure members of the public that investigations are at an advanced stage. Sowetan and its sources are requested to afford the Office of the Premier time to deal with this matter to its logical conclusion.
The tendency displayed by the Sowetan gives credence to media reports that contend that there are elements in the province raging a vendetta to drag the image of the Limpopo provincial administration through the mud by, among others, projecting it as the most corrupt province. This flies in the face of a recent report released by the Public Service Commission which ranks the Limpopo administration as number 6 when compared to others provincial administrations in the country on the number of cases of alleged corruption reported in the current financial year. According to this report, the provinces ranked from 1 to 5 have the higher number of cases.
Meanwhile, the article titled: "Premier Mathale taken to court" in the Sowetan newspapers dated 28 November 2011 presents a ridiculous misrepresentation of facts. It is disheartening that Sowetan does not even know that Mr Soviet Lekganyane is the current Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), formerly Local Government and Housing, in Limpopo while Mr Lesiba Kekana has never
been an MEC in any department anywhere in the country. The latter was the employee of the Office of the Premier who has been transferred to CoGHSTA when the House of Traditional Affairs was relocated from the Office of the Premier to CoGHSTA around June this year.
The less said about this article the better as it is factually incorrect. It is indisputable fact that cross checking facts and objective reporting is of cardinal importance to good journalism.
Enquiries:
Tebatso Mabitsela
Cell: 072 263 0563
