Today, the spotlight once again fell on the extent of municipal corruption and fraud, particularly in ANC-controlled municipalities countrywide, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
The Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) announced that 647 cases of fraud, corruption and money laundering at municipalities are currently being investigated. Hundreds of millions of tax money is at stake.
Several ANC-controlled municipalities, especially those in the Eastern Cape (46 cases), the Free State (60 cases) and the North West (64 cases), are seemingly competing for the title of the province with the most corrupt municipalities.
It is a disgrace that these, mostly rural, municipalities are apparently targeted by ANC cadres to enrich themselves even though residents are already affected by poor service delivery due to, among other things, low revenue.
In this way, municipalities such as Maluti-a-Phofung (formerly Qwaqwa) in the Free State (13 cases) and Matlosana (Klerksdorp, Stilfontein, Orkney and Hartbeesfontein) in the North West (14 cases) have been looted of basically all municipal funds and assets under ANC rule. It is no wonder that these municipalities are characterised by a decline in service delivery and infrastructure.
Based on the briefings, it seems that this situation is just the tip of the iceberg.
This is evident in the fact that there is currently only one case of corruption under investigation at a municipality like Ditsobotla (Lichtenburg and Coligny) in the North West, despite it being general knowledge that service delivery in this Municipality has been paralysed for years by a chaotically corrupt ANC administration, where ANC factions sometimes even resort to violence in a bid to get their hands on municipal funds.
The fact that the Ministers of Justice, Ronald Lamola, Police, Bheki Cele, and COGTA, Thembi Nkadimeng, and their deputies did not attend today’s meeting speaks volumes.
It either demonstrates being in a state of denial, or it points to an ANC government that refuses to take responsibility for the decline and corruption destroying basic service delivery to South Africans under ANC rule.
South Africa deserves better than the ANC.
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