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Provincial Anti-Corruption Council fails to meet for over a year

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Dear MyPE

The Eastern Cape Provincial Anti-Corruption Council has not held one meeting over the last financial year and, to date, has not sat this financial year either. This highlights the sheer lack of political will of the provincial government to tackle corruption.

This was revealed by Premier Oscar Mabuyane, in response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance.

The council is meant to coordinate and integrate the anti-corruption work of the public sector departments and agencies in the province.

It consists of the various provincial Heads of Departments, the Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service, representatives of the State Security Agency, Representatives of the Special Investigations Unit, the Provincial Auditor General, the Provincial Public Protector, the Director of Public Prosecution, Regional Head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Regional Head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, as well as certain Regional Heads of National Departments.

It is no wonder that the Eastern Cape has become the epicentre of corruption when there is a lack of political will to deal decisively with these issues.

The failure of this council to meet has created a huge vacuum in which looting, the likes of what has happened with the Covid-19 procurement, can take place.

To save the Eastern Cape from the decent into a failed state, we urgently need to get rid of corruption and usher in an era of clean government.

We cannot afford to waste one cent on corrupt activities.

These culprits need to be brought to book and the Provincial Anti-Corruption Council, with all the key role players, need to start meeting as a matter of urgency and get rid of the rot in the Eastern Cape.

While I welcome the fact that the Premier says that it intends to start to meet in this financial year, serious questions need to be raised as to why this council has not met.

We need to put this province on a new trajectory so the people can have hope that their lives can improve. This will never happen while state resources are being abused by a connected elite who are enriched at the expense of the people.

The DA will continue to follow up on this matter to ensure this structure works to eradicate the scourge of corruption from the EC.

Regards

Bobby Stevenson, MPL
DA Leader in the Provincial Legislature

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Port Elizabethan

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