Mayor's Speech
WORD OF SUPPORT BY EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF DR KENNETH KAUNDA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY CLLR BOITUMELO MOLOI DURING THE PROVINCIAL ANTI CORRUPTION SUMMIT HELD ON 08 DECEMBER 2009 IN RUSTENBURG
Programme Director
Your Worship the Executive Mayor of Rustenburg, Cllr Matthews Wolmarans
Executive Mayors and Mayors here present
Members of the Provincial Anti- Corruption Forum
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for the great privilege afforded to me to participate in this important summit. I trust that this summit will enable us to increase our efforts to cure our Beautiful Province of the effects of corruption. We must continue our work in the fight against corruption and we must carry forward the hope and expectations of the people of the North West Province.
The Summit must provide all of us with the additional measures that would help us to achieve new successes in the fight against corruption in both the public and private sectors. This is important because as you know, corruption is inimical to development. It constrains our ability to fight poverty. It negatively affects economic development. It damages social values and it undermines democracy and good governance.
Corruption undermines the democratic ethos and principles of our Constitution while eroding the social contract between citizens and the state.
In the last 15 years, we have as a country put in place laws, policies and programmes to root out corruption in our society. We have established partnerships among the social partners and collaborated with regional, continental and international partners. Much more still needs to be done to fight corruption.
I am confident that this summit will give effect to our ongoing work to overcome whatever weaknesses which may exist in our programmes and systems designed to fight corruption.
Our people expect government, business and all other sectors of society to conduct their business with integrity and not to indulge in any form of corruption or fraud. And even when we are making good progress in this fight against corruption, we should not be seen to be complacent and lacking in the need to engage in a full fight against corruption.
All of us must recommit ourselves at an individual level and call all others to commit themselves to the process of moral regeneration and adherence to a value system of ethical conduct.
Ordinary citizens of our province have a significant role to play in the fight against corruption. it is important for our people to know and understand that it is their responsibility to act as whistleblowers and expose all forms of corruption across all spectrums of society.
People must also have trust and confidence in the law enforcement agencies. We must effectively use these agencies to root out corruption without fear or favour so that we can create a society free from this scourge.
As SALGA, we support the Provincial Anti- Corruption Forum as a structure charged with the responsibility of contributing towards the establishment of a provincial consensus through the co-ordination of sectoral strategies against corruption.
The PACF and all of us are faced with the challenge of fighting one of the manifestations of moral decay in our society.
There is a lot that is being done in this province to expose and root out corruption. Even our national government acknowledges our efforts in this regard. Addressing the Second Anti-Corruption Learning Network on the 30th July in Port Elizabeth, the Minister for Public Service and Administration, the Honourable Richard Baloyi singled out the North West Provincial government for its remarkable work in communication and awareness in the field of anti-corruption.
Indeed the fight against corruption can only be won through a partnership between government, business, civil society and our political parties. None of us can succeed acting in isolation. We must join hands in this new struggle. Strong leadership is necessary for our success.
As local government, we commend the bold steps taken by national government to establish a Presidential Hotline for the public to report amongst other issues acts of corruption directly to the President’s Office. Just recently, on the 18th November 2009, Cabinet announced the formation of an anti-corruption inter-ministerial team to be chaired by the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, the Honourable Collins Chabane. This came a day after the announcement of Transparency International’s Annual Corruption Perceptions Index according to which South Africa is ranked number 55 out of 180 countries.
We welcome this ministerial team as it will give effect to the promise by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address in May to tackle corruption. All of these measures are welcomed by us in the local government fraternity.
I take this opportunity to commit all our municipalities in the province to the noble fight against corruption.
Thank you very much.