Bring back ‘Pay back the money’ slogan – Gordhan

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, says the slogan “Pay back the money” needs to be brought back.

Speaking at the Ahmed Kathrada tribute last night at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, Gordhan said South Africa should “not forget the C-word”.

“Corruption is still happening. It hasn’t gone yet and there’s a lot more to do to change both the public and private sector cultures so that we can fully say that we’ve stemmed the tide.

“I think it’s time to start reporting directors of various entities both private and public. If they’ve behaved delinquently, they should be blacklisted so that they don’t become directors of any other company, but more importantly we need to bring back the slogan ‘Pay back the money’.”

According to Gordhan, money illicitly taken from state coffers must be brought back within the next 18 months. He said thanks to technology and the cooperation between government agencies, it is possible to track this money.

That money must then be used in a constructive way “to continue the democratic project and development of South Africa”.

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