Amidst public anger over Covid-19-related corruption, the chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF), Professor Njabulo Ndebele, has called on the government of South Africa to work with civil society organisations (CSOs) towards generating a piece of legislation that will promote transparency and accountability.
Development Diaries gathered that the South African government is investigating reports of large-scale ‘looting’ of its $26 billion Covid-19 rescue package, which was launched to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on struggling citizens.
Reports say that the ruling ANC party has called a meeting of its national executive committee to probe theft of food parcels meant for the poor, and tenders for personal protective equipment (PPE) within its ranks.
Speaking on behalf of the civil society at a meeting with the ruling ANC, Ndebele said that corruption was flourishing in one of Africa’s top economies due to the absence of a reliable accountability and transparency checker.
He said, ‘We stand no chance of fostering cultures of accountability within all tiers of government, even more in local government communities that are located at the base levels of the broader society, unless those accused of corruption, after having been identified, are investigated, charged, and taken to trial’.
‘We encourage government to support the international Open Government Partnership (OGP) in deeds rather than merely in words’, he added.
‘The OGP initiative is potentially extremely valuable, but poor implementation by the government thus far has meant a loss of confidence and of trust on the part of civil society’.
The NMF chairperson also called on the government to address the matter with urgency, saying that decisiveness in prosecuting the corrupt will restore public solidarity and that people will obey the laws of the government.
Other concerned organisations represented at the meeting were the South African Council of Churches (SACC), the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Foundation for Human Rights and the Council for the Advancement of South African Constitution (CASAC).
Source: Nelson Mandela Foundation
Photo source: GovernmentZA
