Peter Dickson
The Eastern Cape government’s sorry saga of in-house corruption and “creative bookkeeping” amid a legacy of poverty and neglect has been the butt of post- apartheid political satire for much of the last five years.
This week, for the first time since 1994 and amid growing public outrage and open scorn at Bisho’s limp-wristed response to thieving civil servants siphoning off millions, the province stages a two-day summit in East London that is designed to produce a strategic anti-corruption plan.
The conference – appropriately entitled Putting Words into Action: A Framework for Change – follows a Department of Safety, Liaison and Transport task team report to the provincial executive council that Premier Makhenkesi Stofile requested be discussed in a broader forum.
Provincial Deputy Director General Peter Mayende, who is co-ordinating the summit, is adamant that “this will not be a talk shop”.
Mayende says Bisho sees the conference as “a departure from the current trend in anti-corruption conferences which tend to dwell on analysing aspects of the problem without presenting practical solutions”.
Bisho has come under fire this week for its policy of “zero tolerance”, which has been described as having no teeth.
MEC for Welfare Ncumisa Kondlo said action by Bisho included the dismissal of seven officials for stealing R2,5-million three years ago, the dismissal for negligence of two officials, and the arrest of three others, who were later charged, after a Lady Frere pension office break-in and the theft of R1,8- million. But she admitted that this was a drop in the ocean and more visible action was needed.
Kondlo’s department began a controversial re-registration of grant beneficiaries this week which is designed to weed out corruption that includes hundreds of civil servants who have not even been suspended, but merely asked to pay back stolen public money.
Mayende says that corruption has been a “major hindrance” to Bisho, frequently derailing the provincial administration and “preventing good governance”.
“Serious and concerted efforts have been made in various fields such as cheque fraud, pensions, and theft and abuse of government property,” he says, “but corruption continues to raise its ugly head.”
The conference has drawn 150 delegates, including special investigative unit head Judge Willem Heath, the provincial Auditor General, Singa Ngqwala, and the National Intelligence Agency.
Academics, bankers, district councils, traditional leaders, government department heads, the Public Service Commission, organised labour, churches and NGOs will also attend the summit.