SACP promises to fight graft

2010-02-28 20:28

Johannesburg - The fight against corruption is not a moral battle but a struggle against a system, the SACP said on Sunday.

"Either we roll back the system or it will roll us back," SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande told reporters after the party's central committee meeting in Johannesburg

He said corruption was a great danger to all that has been achieved in democracy and yet to be achieved.

Nzimande said that the tendering processes needed to be transparent in a way that communities knew who applied for a tender, who had been appointed and why the tender was awarded to a particular person.

Also, he said that those who were not awarded tenders must be given reasons as to why they were not successful.

"The misdirection of public resources through illegal and even legal but anti-social ransacking of all kinds must be halted," said Nzimande.

He described misdirection of public resources as fraudulent social grants and unprocedural tender processes.

Nzimande said the SACP and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) have in the past months played a leading role in the fight against corruption.

"In Krugersdorp, SACP local structures have exposed corruption involving councillors selling RDP houses. In KZN our provincial structure is leading a campaign for transparency around serious allegations and anomalies in the provincial developmental bank, Ithala."

Activist state

He said there were some of the systemic issues that need to be radically transformed, namely the shift of government department tendering out almost all of their activities.

"We need an activist state. It is the core task of the state to render directly a public service to the public not to render out tenders to 'tender-preneurs' and all kinds of rent-seeking intermediaries."

He said instead of tendering out for services, many tasks could also be conducted through the state working with local communities and co-operatives – in the construction of housing for instance.

"This is not to say that there are not services which need to be contracted by the state from private providers. Where this occurs we need much greater transparency around the tendering process.

"At the local level communities need to be informed about who has tendered and for what. And when a tender has been awarded the community, again, needs to be informed, with the reasons given."

He said the SACP supports the call by Cosatu for life-style audits of politicians.

"We also fully support the statutory right and obligation of state entities like SARS (SA Revenue Services) to pursue life-style audits where appropriate and without fear or favour."

- SAPA