The Inkatha Freedom Party demands that the SIU, HAWKS and KZN Treasury must expedite the investigation into the alleged corruption in the KZN Department of Agriculture.
We are extremely concerned that the delay appears to be deliberate, undue and unreasonable, and we condemn this lack of progress. The delay in identifying the “perpetrators and masterminds” behind the alleged corrupt activities is undermining the public’s trust in the government. The investigation should be carried out with full transparency. We demand a “proper, fair and time-bound investigation” into this corruption.
A forensic investigation has been launched into how the KwaZulu-Natal government spent more than R200-millions of its drought-relief budget‚ which was meant as relief for subsistence farmers and struggling smallholder farmers‚ as well as bigger commercial farmers. The money was earmarked for livestock and water harvesting‚ the scooping of dams and the rehabilitation of boreholes across the province‚ as well as for an aggressive de-worming campaign and the provision of hay and feed. The report in this investigation has not been released to the public.
Additionally, almost R60-million in taxpayers’ money meant to assist emerging farmers in rural areas around the province has not been accounted for‚ despite it being uncovered by another forensic report five years ago. The forensic report commissioned by former agriculture MEC Meshack Radebe in 2012‚ and which cost the province R10m‚ was completed in February 2014‚ but has not been released to the public.
Thieves must be sent to jail. They must be punished. Corruption has led to gross misuse of public funds in KZN and has caused untold hardship to its citizens due to lack of provision of basic services. Deterrent punishment should be given to corrupt public servants as graft has become a deep-rooted problem in our society.
We further demand that the KZN Premier, Willies Mchunu must release these reports to the public. The government has an obligation to ensure prompt, effective and thorough investigations into all allegations of potentially unlawful corrupt activities, and a failure to do so is a violation of its Constitutional obligations. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Issued by:
Mr Nhlanhla Msimango MPL
IFP KZN Spokesperson on Agriculture
074 259 0820/078 302 4657