Corruption blitz in South Africa rescues R400m

SOUTH AFRICA’S social development department’s anti-corruption campaign prevented R400 million from being stolen this year, Minister Zola Skweyiya said last week.

Speaking in Pretoria, Skweyiya said his department was annually defrauded of R1,5 billion. “The efforts of government as a whole and law enforcement agencies resulted in R400 million being saved.”We salute the role played by law enforcement.That is the South African Police Service, the special investigation unit and the Scorpions,” Skweyiya said.He appreciated the work the agencies were doing in co-operation with his department and said he realised it was putting stress and additional demands on their capacity.Skweyiya said to date the department and law enforcement had taken legal action against 109 officials with more expected to face the same.”Thus far we have had 86 000 people come forward and volunteer to get indemnity for their fraudulent use of the department’s funds.Of that number, 21 045 applications have been processed.”He said out of the 21 045 processed applications, 4 500 were found to have come from public servants.”Public servants do not qualify for indemnity for the abuse of public funds and their cases are to be referred for legal action,” the minister said.Skweyiya said earlier in the day that two lawyers in the Eastern Cape had been arrested for defrauding the government of R2,5 million.”The public need to come forward and identify these people.It is only through co-operation with government and law enforcement that we can curb this corruption.”The South African Council of Churches (SACC) on Wednesday expressed a concern that the government’s social grants may be open to abuse.The General Secretary of SACC, Molefe Tsele, warned that the SACC would not hesitate to expose “one of our own” if they should be found involved in such activities.”Our call as the Council of Churches goes to the Ministry of Social Development to begin to intensify the fight against corrupt practices inside the department and outside of it.”We are aware as the Council that the Government’s social grants have become a lucrative business for some.This needs to stop,” Tsele said.- Nampa-Sapa”The efforts of government as a whole and law enforcement agencies resulted in R400 million being saved.”We salute the role played by law enforcement.That is the South African Police Service, the special investigation unit and the Scorpions,” Skweyiya said.He appreciated the work the agencies were doing in co-operation with his department and said he realised it was putting stress and additional demands on their capacity.Skweyiya said to date the department and law enforcement had taken legal action against 109 officials with more expected to face the same.”Thus far we have had 86 000 people come forward and volunteer to get indemnity for their fraudulent use of the department’s funds.Of that number, 21 045 applications have been processed.”He said out of the 21 045 processed applications, 4 500 were found to have come from public servants.”Public servants do not qualify for indemnity for the abuse of public funds and their cases are to be referred for legal action,” the minister said.Skweyiya said earlier in the day that two lawyers in the Eastern Cape had been arrested for defrauding the government of R2,5 million.”The public need to come forward and identify these people.It is only through co-operation with government and law enforcement that we can curb this corruption.”The South African Council of Churches (SACC) on Wednesday expressed a concern that the government’s social grants may be open to abuse.The General Secretary of SACC, Molefe Tsele, warned that the SACC would not hesitate to expose “one of our own” if they should be found involved in such activities.”Our call as the Council of Churches goes to the Ministry of Social Development to begin to intensify the fight against corrupt practices inside the department and outside of it.”We are aware as the Council that the Government’s social grants have become a lucrative business for some.This needs to stop,” Tsele said.- Nampa-Sapa