‘Anti-corruption work’ in the Eastern Cape continues despite council’s failure to meet

“Anti-corruption work” has never ceased in the Eastern Cape despite the provincial anti-corruption council’s failure to meet for over a year.

DA leader in the Eastern Cape legislature Bobby Stevenson on Monday said the council has not held one meeting over the last financial year and, to date, has not sat this financial year either, which he said highlights the sheer lack of a political will of the provincial government to tackle corruption.

Stevenson said this was revealed by Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, in response to a parliamentary question from the DA.

Mabuyane’s spokesperson Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetha said the council’s failure to convene a meeting was due to “some persistent administrative challenges”, which he said were being addressed.

“However, the anti-corruption work has never stopped as the [heads of departments], sitting as provincial management, dealt with the monitoring [of] reports on corruption and processed these for the consideration of the EXCO on a quarterly basis through the cluster system,” Sicwetha said.

He said the office of the premier “works with [the office of the public service commission]” on cases reported to the presidential hotline “and coordinated with the relevant departments”.

Sicwetha said the director-general was currently tasked with resuscitating the council and would table a proposal to Mabuyane “very soon”.

“This process will strengthen coordination and collaboration with the law enforcement agencies,” Sicwetha said.

Stevenson said the council is meant to coordinate and integrate the anti-corruption work of the public sector departments and agencies in the province.

He said the council consists of the various provincial heads of departments, the provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service, representatives of the State Security Agency, representatives of the Special Investigations Unit, the provincial auditor general, the provincial public protector, the director of public prosecution, regional head of the department of justice and constitutional development and the regional head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, as well as certain regional heads of national departments.

Stevenson said a lack of political will to deal decisively with the council failing to meet was the reason why the Eastern Cape “has become the epicentre of corruption”.

“The failure of this council to meet has created a huge vacuum in which looting, the likes of what has happened with the Covid-19 procurement, can take place,” he said, urging that the provincial anti-corruption council needs to urgently start convening meetings.

“While I welcome the fact that the premier says that [he] intends to start to meet in this financial year, serious questions need to be raised as to why this council has not met,” Stevenson said.

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