the arena of progressive thought

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ZIWAPHI • VOL 3 NO 25 • 18 DEC 2009 - 14 JAN 2010

NELSPRUIT

Mpumalanga’s government has approved an anti-corruption strategy to fight crime and corruption within its structures.

The spokesperson of premier David Mabuza, Mabutho Sithole, said the strategy was approved on Tuesday by the Mpumalanga executive council during its last sitting for the year.

“The anti-corruption strategy seeks to introduce an integrated approach to fight corruption, with a balanced mix of prevention, investigation, prosecution and also public participation in fighting corruption,” said Sithole on Wednesday.

He added that it was in line with Mabuza’s promise to fight corruption during his state of the province address in June.

Sithole also announced that Mpumalanga would hold an anti-corruption summit next year.

“A provincial anti-corruption forum will be established and stakeholders will meet at least twice a year to formulate joint policies and advise the provincial government on curbing corruption and effective control systems of government,” he said.

According to him, the stakeholders are “business, civil society, religious organisations and the government”.

Sithole said the executive council also welcomed a presentation by the provincial Department of Public Service and Administration about a Know Your Service Rights and Responsibilities campaign for citizens.

“The concept emanated from a survey in 2003 in which it was discovered that there was a general concern about the extent to which citizens were aware of their rights regarding service delivery matters. This campaign will emphasise again the importance of Batho Pele (people first) principles,” added Sithole.

He said the campaign was aimed at discouraging complacency among public servants because citizens would be aware of their rights and insist on them being honoured.

“The provincial government will also investigate the possibility of establishing a Batho Pele inspectorate to monitor and investigate service delivery complaints,” Sithole said.

However, Sithole could not say when or where the anti-corruption forum or rights campaign would be launched next year, nor could he provide any further details about the anti-corruption strategy.

The leader of the Democratic Alliance in Mpumalanga, Anthony Benadie, had doubts about whether the anti-corruption strategy could be implemented by the same people “who are guilty of corruption in the first place”.