36 LAST WORD
It is time to account !
I recently noticed a story in News 24 that the Special Investigations Unit ( SIU ) had their sights on a past DWS Minister , Nomvula Mokonyane .
Rory Macnamara
The SIU investigation was the result of an internal Dept of Water & Sanitation investigation . While this is good news , the matter concerning this lady ’ s shenanigans during her tenure as Minister was the subject of an extensive report entitled , “ Money down the Drain – Corruption in South Africa ’ s water sector .” The report was commissioned by the Water Integrity Network ( WIN ) and Corruption Watch in March 2020 . Researched and written by Mr Mike Muller , still the longest serving DG of the department appointed to the time when democracy reached South Africa . underway since 2012 and the SIU reported 28 criminal cases involving R50 Million . Best described as “ relatively small ” when compared to the corruption during Mokonyane ’ s time .
The report is extensive in its detail and accuracy and presents an example of the contempt which certain Cabinet Ministers , DGs , deputies and companies have for the people of this country and that these entities mentioned in the report still exist today , as do ex-ministers who end up in positions of extreme influence , further exploiting the youth , poor , elderly and homeless .
“ The report is extensive in its detail and accuracy …”
Our attempts at establishing what action would be taken against this minister were met with silence even from the Water & Sanitation Portfolio committee at the time and to date . While not surprising , knowing full well the cadre deployment and “ laager ” mentality ( a carry-over from the previous government please note !) of the current government of protecting their own , it nevertheless rankles when the same individual holds a senior position in Government .
The report was not some half-cocked make up but extensive and backed with facts and figures and a ‘ pull quote ’ in the report stated , “ By the time Mokonyane left , irregular expenditure was well over R4-billion .” Not even the Portfolio Committee then and following saw this as a red flag ! Or perhaps , none so blind they cannot see !
Whilst corruption was a problem before the arrival of Mokonyane ( 2014-2018 ), external investigations were
It is a sad fact that the “ War on Leaks ” programme , an excellent initiative , ended up being a R3-billion disaster with poorly trained artisans / water agents who were supposed to start their career path with this but ended up jobless and our water losses increased rather than decreased . What started as a good initiative ended up being a political tool in the hands of municipal managers .
Which leads me to unemployment . Here we had the potential for 10 000 young people to be trained as water leak repairers which would put them on a career path to become a plumber or any of the intermediate occupations like solar or heat pump installers and ultimately a qualified plumber . Instead , we sit with a treble figure of unqualified persons doing plumbing work .
If this carries on , one just has to do the sums and then when all our potable water is gone – who will be blamed ? PA
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www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline May 2022 Volume 28 I Number 3