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Minister of the Presidency Jackson Mthembu.
- The economy and corruption are the key points of discussion in the cabinet lekgotla headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- The Minister of the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said the lekgotla would be held virtually.
- It will also focus on infrastructure, mass employment, strengthening energy security and localization through industrialization.
Economic recovery and corruption are expected to take center stage in the two-day Cabinet biannual lekgotla currently underway.
Speaking to the media shortly before the virtual meeting, the Minister of the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said: “This lekgotla will focus on economic recovery. Covid-19 has had a serious devastation in our lives, the economy, employment and business. As a government, we must come up with a reconstruction and recovery plan to recover from the devastation caused by Covid-19. “
In his closing speech in the ANC’s own lekgotla last weekend, President Cyril Ramaphosa said decisive steps must be taken to rebuild and transform the economy.
He said that the pandemic exposed the deep levels of poverty, hunger and deprivation and that the challenge was the fundamental restructuring of society and the economy.
“In the second quarter of 2020, our economy recorded a staggering contraction and more than two million jobs were lost. During this time, the unemployed disappeared from the statistical radar as they were unable to seek work and were classified as not economically active. .
“What this alarming statistic reveals is that there are too many of our fellow citizens who are out of work, unable to provide for their families and whose energies are lost to the economy. Too many of our compatriots are starving and we need to develop nimble innovations and strategies that respond to the real challenges people face, ”said Ramaphosa.
Mthembu added that the lekgotla would focus on key areas of the recovery plan, namely infrastructure, mass employment, strengthening energy security and location through industrialization.
With the recent wave of arrests and rumors of eminent arrests of prominent ANC members for alleged corruption, Mthembu added that another key focus area would be crime and corruption.
READ | ANC Lekgotla had a lot of news, but none that really mattered
“We have seen crime and corruption rearing its ugly head. This government lekgotla will also say, ‘How do you deal with crime and corruption?’ Of course, the last part related to economic recovery is how justice is done to the public purse. What are you doing as a result of what happened to boost your spending on the public purse and public finances? “, He said.
The ANC lekgotla recently affirmed its position that state employees should not do business with the government.
Amid widespread reports of corruption related to emergency procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an intense debate over whether relatives of ANC leaders should be allowed to do business with the state.
The plan was presented for the first time in a draft economic recovery action plan before the National Council for Economic Development and Labor (Nedlac), which proposed “to extend the prohibition of public servants doing business with the state to politically people exposed (PEP), as according to the definitions of the Law of the Financial Intelligence Center “.
Ramaphosa said Monday that more consultations will take place among alliance partners and in legislatures to find the most appropriate approach to the issue of other politically exposed individuals doing business with the state.
If Nedlac’s plan is accepted, it would have a profound effect on the relatives of the politicians who coin it through business with the state.
ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule has long championed the millions his sons earn through public procurement.
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