ANC WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF THE MANASE REPORT
4 June 2013
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal welcomes the release of the progress on the implementation of the Manase forensic report's recommendations and the declaration of the report as a public document. This is consistent with the call by the ANC, in particular the Provincial Chairperson Cde Senzo Mchunu.
We have always understood that there are legal impediments to a full, unfettered or reckless release of the report. In the main they relate to the possible prejudice to other investigations by other agencies and also prejudice to individuals who believe that the report's conclusions are not wholly justified. The Report is not the result of a judicial process.
The report released today provides updates in terms of the progress so far. There are those recommendations that were acted upon and finalised. We call on the eThekwini Municipality to consider instituting criminal proceedings against all those who decided to resign rather than face disciplinary processes against them.
We have noted that there are other recommendations that were referred to the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT). The intention should be to punish those who committed corruption but at the same time recover any losses suffered by the municipality.
The ANC took the decision to urge the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to initiate the investigation into allegations of fraud, corruption and poor governance in order to solicit the facts and act against those found guilty. We are vindicated that it was not a witch-hunt against certain individuals but it was based on our commitment to good governance and our resolve to fight corruption at all costs.
We are convinced that the fight against corruption and maladministration should not be politicised. We urge members of the society to provide any relevant information to assist the ACTT to strengthen cases related to irregular allocation of houses, recruitment irregularities or any other cases.
It is worth mentioning that there has never been any intention from the ANC and its government to keep this report as a secret document. We were mindful of the fact that the report must be handled in manner that respects the rule of law. It was only due to the legalities involved, the various interests from law enforcement agencies and the interest of justice and fairness that the release of the report had to be delayed.
Therefore all the hallucinations from some in the opposition are nothing but cheap political gimmicks aimed at gaining a moment of fame with a hope that this will revive their flagging political fortunes. We hope the report will empower the media and political analysts to communicate to the public accurate and factual information.
As the ANC we welcome the actions taken against the councillors who were found guilty of certain transgressions. As soon as, we receive the report, the matter will be referred to the ANC for possible referral to our Ethics and Integrity Commission or Disciplinary Committee for further action.
Statement issued by Senzo Mkhize, ANC KwaZulu-Natal, June 4 2013
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