This speech was delivered by GOOD MP Shaun August, in National Parliament today.
Shaun August
GOOD MP
27 October 2020
We must stop talking about corruption. We must act. The corrupt must be sent to jail.
Honourable chairperson…
As parliamentarians, we should be spending more of our time debating practical measures to improve service delivery, to create dignified living environments for our people, to upskill them so they are better-equipped to find jobs.
But each day we learn about new depths to which our public servants have sunk to enrich themselves and their cronies.
I am reminded of the R53 million of reckless spending just off my doorstep in Cape Town on the disastrous and inhumane dumping ground the DA called the Strandfontein Camp.
This ludicrous spending, was merely an opportunity for the DA government to live out their fantasies and remove the poor from affluent areas to the fringes of the Metro. Out of site, out of mind.
Examples like this is so pervasive that we are really not surprised to learn of the looting of our coronavirus defences. It would be much more surprising to see people convicted and imprisoned for their crimes against the nation.
As long as the corrupt feel they stand a good chance of getting away with it they’re going to keep on doing it.
Our courts also have a responsibility to make the punishment fit the crime. With constant postponements of cases the confidence in our justice system is slowly eroding.
Chairperson…
Corruption doesn’t just bleed the country of its resources, but also its energy and hope for a better future. It erodes peoples’ trust in government, and in us, their representatives.
In the absence of law enforcement, an environment has been created for the weaponization of corruption allegations by politicians – for factionalism, political campaigning and division.
Corruption and fraud has become a national obsession, while it feels that the real work before us – reducing inequality and advancing social, economic, spatial and environmental justice – has somehow been de-prioritised.
We need to stop talking about corruption, start dealing with it – and rapidly refocus on the national priorities.
As we contemplate our re-emergence from Covid lockdowns, and the new normal that lies before us, we can’t allow ourselves to be defined by corruption any longer.
I want to remind Hon Graham from the DA that she must still account for R25 million of money from the public for a Giant flag project in the Eastern Cape – that was never completed.
I implore the government to take urgent action to finalise each and every case reported to the SIU.
Agencies like the SIU and NPA must receive more resources.
As we enter the local government election season, let’s do so in an environment in which law-enforcement agencies are doing their work – allowing politicians to do their real work, too.
We must acknowledge the attempts of the past few weeks that show some action and it must continue.
We must earn back our self-respect and restore our GOOD reputation to the world.
I thank you.