Govt to name, shame corrupt officials
2013-02-24 14:06
Pretoria - Government officials convicted of corruption will be named and shamed, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe announced on Sunday.
"In the next few days, we will be publishing all the names of people who have been convicted in cases of corruption, and all those whose assets have either been frozen or have been forfeited to the state," he told reporters in Pretoria.
This was being done "so the public will know these rotten apples of South African society".
Radebe said officials were "working out the details" of whether to use electronic media, newspapers, radio or television to publish the information.
Responding to a question about whether publication might pose legal problems, Radebe said the names were already public knowledge.
"It's public knowledge. The records of our courts indicate that, so there is no problem whatsoever to indicate those people.... Cases of freezing orders as well as forfeitures is [also] public knowledge.
"We want to ensure the public is conscious of what has happened, because for some time, when people talk about corruption, it's just a number. We now want to do this in a meaningful way," he said.
- SAPA
