KZN ‘blanket saga’: DSD senior officials yet to face disciplinary action

3 August 2023

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) calls on Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza to take urgent action to ensure that senior officials within her department, linked to the province’s so-called ‘blanket saga’, are held accountable.

This as disciplinary hearings are yet to take place after three years and as hearings scheduled for last month have now been moved to the end of the year.

The matter relates to massive fraud and corruption in the procurement of blankets for the poor during the Covid-19 hard lockdown in 2020.

The DA is not surprised that disciplinary hearings have taken so long to be held. This is how KZN’s Taliban faction ANC government operates.

It is shocking that the three individuals under suspicion of involvement are all Chief Directors within the department - who continue to hold onto their jobs. It shows that there is no urgency from provincial government when it comes to holding officials accountable.

We expect the MEC to ensure that disciplinary action takes place and that the hearings are not postponed yet again.

The DA will continue to fight for justice on behalf of the people of KZN, who are fast running out of hope. In 2024, they will have the opportunity to save our province through the ballot box and vote for a government that ensures accountability.

Issued by Mmabatho Tembe, DA KZN Spokesperson on Social Development, 3 August 2023