Union calls for arrest of looters

Members and affiliates of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called for the immediate arrest of VBS Mutual Bank looters in all municipal structures in the province during a protest in Polokwane last Wednesday.
They marched to the Office of the Premier, Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) and the headquarters of the South African Police Service.
Cosatu Provincial Secretary, Gerald Twala said they were unhappy about the slow process by law enforcement agencies in dealing with the VBS debacle. “We demand speedy arrests and prosecution of all those implicated in the matter. We are here to remind the Premier, Coghsta and Treasury that municipalities in the province collectively lost more than R1,3 billion to VBS Mutual Bank which is money that was supposed to provide basic services to our communities. Many of the implicated municipalities are facing real possibilities of being unable to pay the salaries of workers in the coming month and many service delivery projects remain incomplete as result of wrong and corrupt decisions,” Twala added.
Addressing the protesters at his headquarters Premier Stan Mathabatha reportedly said his government would not hesitate to act against officials and politicians implicated in the looting of the VBS Mutual Bank. “The ANC will deal with its officials and the government will deal with government officials.”

Story: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert.observer@gmail.com