Rampant ANC Corruption Wrecks Economy & Covid-19 Fight!
The recent death of ANC stalwart and last surviving Rivonia trialist, Andrew Mlangeni provoked an outpouring of praise from governing party officials. Most commended Mlangeni for his selfless service to the country, his honesty and revulsion for corruption. However, what may have been lost on the ANC cadres commending Mlangeni is the fact that the movement he sacrificed his life for - now symbolises everything he reviled. A once principled and world renowned liberation movement, the ANC, has become a mere shadow of its former self as a result of its shameless greed, cronyism and maladministration. It’s once lofty ideals of providing “a better life for all” has given way to a self-enriching, thieving frenzy that boggles the mind.
Corruption-weary citizens were given a faint ray of hope when Cyril Ramaphosa replaced the disastrous Jacob Zuma as State President in 2018. Ramaphosa’s “New Dawn” promise however, turned out to be a non-starter due to relentless ANC corruption, theft, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Not even the Covid-19 relief funds - meant for the poor and jobless - were spared. While more than fifty percent of households struggle to feed itself, Billions have been looted by politically connected fraudsters.
A reported R22 billion of the R500 billion emergency relief budget is already missing. Ramaphosa assured the nation government will focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Who could have imagined that ANC corruption and not lockdown transgressions, would undermine the fight against Covid-19? Incredibly, thousands of citizens were arrested for contravening lockdown regulations but not one single ANC cadre has faced justice for their despicable crimes against the people of South Africa.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted government a R70 billion loan to supplement rapidly dwindling public coffers. South Africa is drowning in debt, which is expected to exceed 100 percent of GDP by 2024. Ramaphosa announced the creation of a multi-agency law-enforcement and prosecutorial task force to ostensibly combat the rampant corruption in his party. However, most analysts believe the announcement was meant to appease the concerns of international lenders. But why establish another mechanism to investigate corrupt public officials when mountains of Zondo Commission evidence - implicating ANC officials in corruption already exists? The Commission costs tax-payers almost R1 billion to date, with nothing to show for it.
Shortly after his announcement, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, her husband and Gauteng Health MEC, Bandile Masuku were implicated in a R125 million PPE scandal. Almost every aspect of governance is now tainted with corruption. Sam Vukela, the Director General of the Department of Public Works was suspended for “inflating the costs of state funerals”. Apparently 3 funerals cost tax-payers R76 million! The Eastern Cape province, that already collapsed under ANC corruption and maladministration is now implicated in a dodgy R160 million contract with ANC benefactor, Iqbal Surve, who himself is implicated in massive PIC linked corruption worth billions.
102 Companies in Gauteng alone are being investigated for tender fraud. Add the hundreds of billions looted during the disastrous “State Capture” scandal and the numbers are truly staggering. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was procured for frontline healthcare workers fighting the pandemic. Tragically, ANC PPE tender fraud has seriously undermined the fight against Covid-19 and rendered healthcare workers vulnerable to infections and even death.
To understand the scale of the widespread fraud and theft currently decimating South Africa, government loaned R70 billion in emergency funds to plug the holes. But ANC run municipalities wasted R32 billion in just one year with zero accountability for its actions. The ANC facilitated the looting and destruction of every State-Owned Enterprise in the country. The once efficient and world-renowned energy utility, Eskom, was plundered by ANC deployees in less than 20 years. Today, Eskom is crippled by R450 billion debt and grossly overstaffed. Massive tender fraud by ANC bigwigs are still being uncovered.
A dodgy R14 billion contract was cancelled recently when corruption was uncovered. Overburdened citizens will be forced to pick up the tab for ANC malfeasance when the utility increases energy rates by 15 percent to recover R69 billion. South African Airways (SAA), also in business rescue - was run into the ground by successive ANC cadres like the grossly inept and corrupt Dudu Myeni. Now government has allocated R10 billion in its umpteenth vanity rescue package – with no guarantee of success – while unemployment soars above 50 percent and starving children feed on wild plants to survive.
|