President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the media during a post SONA Press Conference on 16 February 2022 in Cape Town. Picture: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams
They let us down with the Covid pandemic through looting and some illogical restrictions. They let us down by being unprepared for last year’s orgy of looting and violence.
And now many South Africans believe the ANC government might do the same again in the context of the flood disaster in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Also Read: Kathrada foundation urges government to ensure billions for KZN flood relief is not stolen
It just might be up to civil society to monitor them so they don’t steal again – and to work together to rebuild not only KZN, but our whole crumbing country.
Riddled with past scandals which have cost the South African taxpayer billions in corruption-tainted tenders, the KZN flood disaster has become the last chance for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to redeem itself, organs of civil society warned yesterday.
The warning was in response to Ramaphosa’s unveiling of government’s R1 billion plan to deal with the catastrophic floods which have left more than 400 people dead, nearly 4 000 homes completely destroyed and more than 8 300 houses partially damaged.
Non-governmental organisation Gift of the Givers has been showered with funds from the public and the private sector since getting involved in disaster relief interventions in the country – and its founder, Dr Imtiaz Ismail Sooliman, said the governing ANC faced “one huge shock in the 2024 elections, if it does not redeem itself in this KZN disaster, by running a corrupt-free operation”.
Also Read: Gift of the Givers intervenes in KZN floods
With those affected sharing anything from food to boreholes, Sooliman said the floods “have taught us that ubuntu has been credible for the South African family, regardless of race”.
“Love and an active citizenry during times like this, have shown us this country does not belong to government, but to all of us,” he said.
Corruption Watch said the current crisis showed a link between service delivery failures, mismanagement of resources and the exposure of communities to the effects of extreme weather conditions – “the result of long-predicted effects of climate change”.
Reflecting on past scandals involving government officials, Corruption Watch executive director Karam Singh said: “Experience has clearly shown the vulnerability of our systems to corruption in times of crisis, if one considers the rampant corruption during the Covid pandemic.”
“The immediacy of the situation and the precarious position of so many KZN residents require fast and efficient use of resources to meet the most basic needs of water, food and shelter.
“There must be absolute transparency and full disclosure of how these funds are being distributed, ensuring they reach the communities for whom they are intended.
Also Read: KZN floods: Zikalala assures SA that no relief funds will be looted
“The best way to ensure funds are correctly allocated and spent is to have systems in place that allow government, oversight bodies and civil society to monitor the allocations and spending,” added Singh.
While lauding Ramaphosa’s nationally coordinated efforts to offer financial and material resources to flood-ravaged KZN, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) concurred with Sooliman and Singh on government’s lost credibility due to corruption.
“The government now has an opportunity to redeem itself but whether they will do so remains to be seen,” said Outa executive director Wayne Duvenage.
“Some good things which came out of the president’s announcement have included removing this intervention from a provincial to a nationally controlled environment, because provinces like KZN are not known for strength in administration on matters like this,” Duvenage said.
“To see national bodies like Sanral and the auditor-general being involved in facilitating the road construction and water reticulation in some areas, is probably a good thing.”
But, said Duvenage, “to have the Solidarity Fund in managing the procurement made people expect corruption to take place”.
He said these emergency procurement processes have proven themselves vulnerable to fraud.
“There has been a declining trust in government and they can fix that if they see this as an opportunity to do so.”
On work done by non-governmental organisations like Gift of the Givers, Duvenage said: “Thank goodness for them, because without them, there would be more plight.”
With social media abuzz with the dire situation in KZN, Brent Lindeque of Good Things Guy tweeted: “We don’t need another state of disaster.
“The only state of disaster is our government.”
– brians@citizen.co.za
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