ANC KZN shocked by attempt on whistleblower Thabiso Zulu’s life

KwaZulu-Natal ANC chairperson Sihle Zikalala has expressed shock at the attempt to assassinate Zulu.

Zikalala said the ANC in KZN was very concerned about the incident and wished Zulu a speedy recovery after he sustained an injury in the arm when he and a friend were attacked by unknown gunmen.

“We’re very concerned about this situation because we thought that we had now stabilised as a province. We thought we had reached a point where issues of this nature are no longer there,” Zikalala said.

Zikalala has promised an urgent intervention to deal with this matter and that support and protection will be provided to Zulu.

He said the ANC in the province will be engaging with the relevant authorities to process such an intervention.

Zikalala said the attack on Zulu undermines the ANC’s efforts to bring about stability in the province.

The IFP in the province said whistleblowers in South Africa need to be protected.

The IFP believes that more needs to be done to protect whistleblowers, the party said in a statement.

“The IFP believes that not protecting whistleblowers would seriously inhibit future disclosures and cause serious harm to the role of oversight to ensure good governance.  Whistleblowers are a vital component of oversight in addressing serious malfeasance both within government and throughout the private sector. However, whistleblowers are those who reveal misconduct or unethical policies in the public interest, and their important role in keeping government honest is recognized by-laws that provide protection from retaliation for their disclosures. Yet in South Africa, whistleblowers are highly vulnerable to retaliation for exposing corruption.

“We are also concerned about the issue of Fikile Hlatshwayo Rouget, another whistleblower who was dismissed in 2013 from her senior management position by the KZN Treasury after she made a protected disclosure regarding suspected corruption in the Durban North Sea Jazz festival where millions were paid to event organisers, but the event never took place. Since then her life is at risk. Government has failed and rejected her like Thabiso Zulu.

“Whistleblowing is an essential element for any successful anti-corruption strategy and activity. The IFP believes that without whistleblowing it is nearly impossible to detect instances and cases of corruption. Authorities in South Africa should actually change the course of action, otherwise the level of good governance in the country will never improve and the country’s development goals will not easily be achieved.

“Whistleblowers require more protection to encourage them to speak out about wrongdoings after a string of scandals across the public and private sectors. Reports into public scandals and tragedies reveal that those who would wish to blow the whistle are prevented or discouraged from so doing and that those who have blown the whistle are not listened to or are punished and even killed. They play a crucial role when it comes to fighting money laundering, fraud or corruption. We have to weigh carefully what is the best way forward and on which level we should act to better protect them.

“We need iron-clad, enforceable protections for whistleblowers, and we need a public record of success stories. When someone becomes a whistleblower, they’re making a serious, conscious decision.

“The IFP calls on the Minister of Police to ensure that Thabiso Zulu and other whistleblowers are provided with protection. Failure to do so is nothing more than a recipe for a disaster.”

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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