Quote of the Week
"If Zuma really wanted to stop "fronting", he would shut down the biggest "front company" in the country – the ANC's own front company, Chancellor House. This "front company" is the very manifestation of the ANC's approach to BEE. It is not intended to empower previously disadvantaged people, or to achieve what he calls "broad-based empowerment." It is designed to enrich the ANC. It does this through corruption. The ANC in government channels contracts and tenders to the ANC in business to enrich the ANC and its leaders."
Helen Zille in her recent SA Today newsletter.
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Last Week's Highlights
Top Story: R1-billion on government travel in a year?
Lindiwe Mazibuko MP, DA’s National Spokesperson revealed that recent data from departmental reports showed that foreign travel by ministers, deputy ministers and national department officials had increased to almost R1 billion over the past fiscal year.
Reports showed that the total government expenditure on official trips increased from R823 million in 2007/08 to R978 million in 2008/09, said Mazibuko. She added that national ministers undertook no less than 474 overseas trips while deputy ministers undertook 169 trips abroad.
Mazibuko stated that 31 departments were reviewed of which 21 recorded an increase in travel expenditure. She said that the Public Service Commission had showed the highest with a 200% increase, while Arts & Culture came in second with a 111% increase on overseas trips.
Travel costs are part and parcel of running a government said Mazibuko, however events such as the Inauguration of the Library of Timbuktu in Mali by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans in January 2009 hardly benefit South Africans at large, she said.
Mazibuko continued saying that further research showed that many ministers spent prolonged periods outside the country. The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism was 106 days out of the country while the Minister of Agriculture was 83 days abroad, he said.
Mazibuko concluded that the DA would submit parliamentary questions to ascertain why some ministers were outside of the country for such long periods of time.
Read more here>>
President Zuma must do the right thing
Athol Trollip MP, Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on President Zuma to apologise for his failure to declare his interests, which the Public Protector recently found to be unlawful.
The Executive Members Ethics Act is all about what constitutes good governance and ethical behaviour and an example needs to be made and precedent set, said Trollip.
The DA recently submitted a parliamentary question asking whether President Zuma accepts personal responsibility and to provide him with the opportunity to formally apologise. An apology will achieve a reputation of accountability and acknowledge guilt and accept responsibility, he said.
Trollip added that the Public Prosecutor’s report further revealed that a total of 24 cabinet ministers had failed to comply with the stipulated deadline. This constituted almost 40% of the members of the executive which did not say a lot about transparency with a respect for the law, he added.
Laws should be embodied, promoted and protected by those people elected into leadership positions and should not in any way be undermined, concluded Trollip.
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IN OTHER NEWS
Da questions Special Price Agreements between Eskom and BHP Billiton
Pieter van Dalen MP, DA Shadow Deputy of Public Enterprises stated that the DA would be submitting an application for an investigation by the Public Protector, into the special price agreements between Eskom and BHP Billiton.
Van Dalen stated that BHP Billiton contributed only 0.1% of economic growth while using almost 10% of available electricity. He said that there was a strong possibility of a conflict of interest with possible corruption which motivated an investigation.
Van Dalen added that the Public Protector was there to investigate improper activities relating to public money or improper enrichment and needed to investigate this matter as this was not the first time that a conflict of interest arose with Eskom and its partnerships. The recent Hitachi and Eskom deal was found by the Public Protector to be a severe conflict of interest, he said.
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The ANC government’s land reform policy is as clear as mud
Mpowele Swathe MP, DA Shadow Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform has criticised the ANC land reform process, stating that the ANC had no idea of what they wanted to create.
Swathe stated that Constitution set out fair and equitable parameters for land reform and that all that was required, was for the government to carry out the necessary steps to legislate and then to implement the process.
Swathe called on the ANC to define their policy on land reform as it differed according to which person in the ANC was being asked. He stated that President Zuma needed to demonstrate his leadership by clarifying the policy to the public.
Zuma could do well to consider why land reform is failing, said Swathe. Further examination of the facts showed that the failure was a result of institutional inadequacies, he said.
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