We are walking the talk on fighting corruption - Zuma

17 January 2017

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma says the Presidency is doing everything it can to fight corruption and "discourage those who may be tempted".

Zuma was replying to a Parliamentary question from Congress of the People MP Diedre Carter on public comments he had made at a cadres forum in Pietermaritzburg in November 2015.

At the forum, Zuma had said: "The same people that are accusing me are the ones that are stealing, and I know exactly what they are stealing. I know exactly who they are."

Carter requested a written reply a week later from Zuma on whether he had since reported any of the individuals that he claimed he knew "were stealing" from the State.

In the reply, released January 10, Zuma said he was committed to do even more to defeat the "scourge of corruption", and that his Pietermaritzburg comments were made in the "spirit" of the successes they had had thus far.

"We do not only talk about fighting corruption, but we are doing something about it. The few cases I have mentioned [below] attest to the progress we are making.

"We will continue to speak out to discourage unethical behaviour and to discourage those who may be tempted. The statement was made in that spirit."

Zuma cited more than 27 proclamations signed since April 2013 which had resulted in the Special Investigating Unit recovering cash or assets to the value of R204m. Contracts worth R755m were also cancelled.

"Over the past three years, 32 people involved in corruption cases worth R3bn have been convicted. 58 people involved in fraud to the value of close to R200m were also convicted," he continued.

Zuma said he felt a lot of good work had been done, and had instructed the Anti-Corruption Task Team to "work tirelessly to root out corruption at all levels of the public services".

This article first appeared on News24, see here.