Former Hawks head to lead Joburg anti-corruption unit

Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba on 9 November appointed a new head of the anti-corruption unit, former Gauteng Hawks head, Shadrack Sibiya.
The position has been vacant since 2012 but will now be utilised to set up a specialised team, headed by Sibiya.
Mashaba said Sibiya was appointed for his no fear, no favour approach to his work. He referred to Sibiya’s arrest of 25 people, including the Mayor, Speaker, City manager, political advisors, chief operating officer, and the wives of the Mayor and City manager, as well as local business owners in Mangaung in the Free State in 2005.
“He possesses the integrity, experience and courage to perform this role,” Mashaba said.
Sibiya was instructed by the Mayor, who declared corruption ‘public enemy number one’ upon stepping into office after the municipal elections this year, to operate the unit like a Chapter 9 institution, functioning independently from government.
Sibiya will look into previous investigations and determine if their findings have been carried out. He will also look into tenders awarded to relatives of and City employees.
Sibiya said that he is not a politician and that he will not allow politics to influence his work.
“I will work with the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority and work hard to make sure the City is clean of corruption,” he said.
Mashaba said he needed someone with Sibiya’s expertise to investigate the near daily claims he received and spoke of the “deep-rooted level of corruption” within the administration. Mashaba said he believes there is corruption in every department of the City and with the unit uncovering these cases of corruption, it will save the City money and also ensure that the unit’s operating costs are funded. He said that the unit is a required investment and that it will not be an abuse of public funds.
“The amount resulting in corruption runs into billions over the last five years. There are lots of cases that will shock you. But I need to be sure that everyone involved is treated fairly,” he said.
The City’s speaker, Vasco Da Gama, added that previous investigations within the City were conducted by outside consultants, but that these reports never saw the light of day.