It is very disheartening to learn that Gauteng residents are losing their hard-earned taxes to corruption.
According to a recent report released by Corruption Watch, entitled Analysis of Corruption Trends (ACT), the majority of fraud and whistle-blower reports for the period January 2022- June 2022 came from Gauteng. Two-thirds of all reports received during this period came from this province.
In addition, the report also found that 62% of complaints classified as corruption emanated from the public sector, while 25% originate from the private sector.
The complaints regarding the public sector related to the abuse of authority, bribery, extortion, procurement, and employment irregularities.
This is very concerning and indicates that the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is doing very little to clamp down on corruption. In May 2022, Premier David Makhura introduced The State of Ethics, Integrity management systems, and anti-corruption strategy in Gauteng, with these introductory remarks:
“On the other hand, corruption, maladministration, abuse of power and poor service delivery undermines development outcomes and further contributes to loss of public confidence and shifts public resources away from the development and advancement of society to enrich a few individuals”.
No truer words were spoken, but if it lacks action and the will of the governing party to eradicate corruption, it will remain an uphill battle.
The DA will continue to put pressure on the GPG to strengthen the measures they have in place to fight corruption and maladministration.
This can be done by ensuring that whistle-blowers are afforded the protection they deserve when reporting suspected cases of corruption. A DA government will not let corrupt officials off the hook and will ensure that they are charged and prosecuted even if they resign.
Our residents can no longer have a government that turns a blind eye to corruption within its ranks. This will all change in 2024 when our residents vote for a capable DA government that is committed to ending corruption.