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Vice President David Mabuza. (Photo by Gallo Images / Alet Pretorius)
- Vice President David Mabuza says corruption in the public and private sectors will reverse the progress the country has made.
- Mabuza says that institutions, such as the National Prosecutor’s Office, must be supported to detect and prosecute those guilty of corruption.
- The vice president responded to questions at the National Council of Provinces on Thursday.
Vice President David Mabuza says the only way to boost the fight against corruption is to train institutions that break corruption to “ride out the storm” and protect the country’s finances.
He answered questions at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, where he pledged greater support for the National Prosecutor’s Office (NPA) and other law enforcement agencies.
“It is important that we support and train them to deal with corruption. If you look at it, you will say that it is corruption only in the government … I would say no.
“Those people in the government, they live within a society that means this [corruption] The virus has also infected society. That means that corruption is spreading, “Mabuza said.
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He added that corruption was widespread and involved those in the public and private sectors.
“Therefore, we have to intensify our fight. It is quite clear that since the advent of democracy, we have seen the element of corruption grow. This probably presents us with an opportunity … to take time and strengthen these institutions to confront de corruption decisively. Corruption can destroy all the achievements we have made as a country and nation, “said Mabuza.
On Wednesday, Auditor General Kimi Makwetu released damning findings regarding Covid-19 aid funding.
He presented details of corruption in the acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Overpricing, unfair processes and possible public procurement fraud were just some of the irregularities that Makwetu highlighted.
Last month, however, the government assured that money stolen from the state by unscrupulous companies and individuals would be recovered by inflating the prices of PPE.
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Law enforcement agencies had faced an avalanche of corruption in Covid-19 PPE tenders, particularly in Gauteng, where several high-ranking ANC politicians and their family members won large tenders.
Mabuza said it was unfortunate that some exploited the country’s Covid-19 crisis.
“This is a very unfortunate situation that has occurred. As a country, we were all preparing our energies to face the Covid-19 pandemic storm. This storm has taken lives. We have done everything possible to combat this, and in the process, the money was embezzled.
“The president has spoken about this and the real answer to this is that we must be agile and prepared to face such situations wherever they occur. We need to build our institutions.”
He added that the government has not diverted resources from programs aimed at reducing HIV infections and tuberculosis.
“Now we are going to resume the work of the South African National AIDS Council. As we ease the restrictions, we will try to get going. We pay attention to Covid-19 and, in the process, we continue with the programs that seek to combat HIV, the tuberculosis, malaria “.
