Minister Ntshaveni should fact check herself before she wrecks herself (and the economy)
15 January 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) call on the Minister of Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, who is apparently so focused on the importance of facts, to provide not only the DA, but the entire country, with a detailed and up-to-date report that lays out exactly how relief funds allocated to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) were spent as well as withheld from those both in dire need and deserving of those monies.
This comes after she disputed the DA’s claims around her department’s dismal allocation of the Covid-19 relief funds for SMMEs. Her attempt to grandstand, rather than address the real issue, failed dismally.
The Minister is not famous for her due diligence when it comes to performing the duties associated with her portfolio. As with any Ministerial portfolio, one such duty, if not the most crucial one, is making sure that one relays the facts to those that pay one’s bloated salary.
In fact, relaying the truth to South Africans is not just some unwritten ethical imperative. It is a constitutional duty as per section 195(g) of the Constitution.
It is here, in the realm of distinguishing between facts and fiction for purposes of abiding by the Constitution, where the Minister fails so dismally that her incompetence beggars belief.