Political leaders in South Africa involved in the awarding of corrupt coronavirus tenders to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to government “must be dismissed immediately,” an umbrella union leader said on Friday.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) president Zingiswa Losi said this when he addressed the economic challenges facing the country at a Chatham House webinar briefing on Friday.
The labour leader noted what President Cyril Ramaphosa’s weekend address had said about his government’s zero tolerance to corruption, and that he would put in place mechanisms to reclaim all funds lost to corrupt Covid-19 tenders.
While this was a good starting point, more must be done, Losi said.
“We need clear political leadership in the fight against corruption. This must include the immediate dismissal of any political barrier or office manager that is implicated in corruption,” Losi said.
He added: “That is why we are calling on government to establish rapid responses that are anti-corruption like our anti-corruption courts on the model like what we had in South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”
The world football extravaganza saw the South African government, on the advice of FIFA, set up courts to try anyone or organisation involved in the corruption during the organisation of the highly successful tournament.
This, however, did not happen with the Covid-19 pandemic, as perhaps in hindsight nobody foresaw the corruption that eventually overtook the supplies of PPEs to government.
Cosatu also called for massive dedicated financial support for sectors that were struggling under the current Covid-19 crisis, especially the tourism sector which has seen a complete slump due to the lockdown and an international flights ban.
South Africa, the continent’s hardest hit country by the virus, has 633,015 confirmed cases which have resulted in 14,563 deaths nationwide.
NM/jn/APA