SACP STATEMENT ON REPORTED RENOVATIONS COSTS FOR CABINET MEMBERS

The SACP notes and is angered by the latest media reports regarding the cost of renovations of houses of Ministers and Deputy Ministers. The reported costs, if true, are extremely exorbitant and represent sophistication between those in Public Works responsible and the private individuals who have won the tenders to siphon resources from the public purse.

The SACP has over sometime been aware of practices where to hire a glass for a function that takes two to three hours have been costing government R200 per glass for those hours. This is an unwelcomed practice. It is simply corruption that we must all unite against in society.

The SACP rejects attempts to deposit the blame on the Ministers and to adopt a public posture as if renovations to the houses are not a necessity. We call on all to desist from political grandstanding around this issue and deal with the matter at hand which is the collusion between those who bid for tenders and the relevant officials to inflate prices in order to serve the bribe lust, be it of the officials or of the politicians concerned.

The SACP call on the Minister of Public Works to act swiftly to bring those involved to book. Furthermore we call on government to adopt our 13^thNational Congress resolution, which calls for the detendirisation of the state. Certain services, like catering and maintenance of buildings, must be insourced and we must build the capacity of the state to deliver such services.

The Ministry of Public Works must fast track the process of capacity building which includes bringing back engineers, architects and project managers who left the employ of the state because of outsourcing, a procurement practiced that is adored by our ideological opponents including the DA. Furthermore the SACP call on the officials implicated to be brought to book after due process has been followed and for the companies that agreed to inflate their prices to be blacklisted and never be allowed to tender for anything going forward. Due process must never be used to obstruct getting to the bottom of the issues at hand.

Statement issued by the SACP, January 21 2013

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