Political parties in the region went head to head on Sunday night at the Monument, debating corruption and maladministration in local government.
Political parties in the region went head to head on Sunday night at the Monument, debating corruption and maladministration in local government.
The platform was the 2011 Election debate programme that is broadcast on SABC 1 every Sunday evening, in association with the University of Johannesburg, and hosted by SABC Political Editor, Vuyo Mvoko.
The panel consisted of the ANC, UDM, Cope and Azapo, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), Makana Independent New Deal (Mind) and the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) were seated in the audience and were allowed one question each.
More than 200 ANC members and just over 100 UDM members dominated the evening, chanting struggle songs whenever the opportunity arose. Cope and Azapo were significantly smaller, the DA and Mind having even more modest numbers.
But the Guy Butler Theatre was packed and the crowd was sometimes disruptive, sneering or cheering in response to statements. The hour went quickly, as statements and allegations put forward made for great entertainment. Parties seized the platform for a bit of electioneering – but few conclusions were reached about the main topic of debate: How to keep local government free of corruption.
ANC Provincial chair, Phumulo Masualle, opened up the debate with a statement that the ANC Manifesto of 2009 had stated that tackling crime and corruption was a priority. "A number of interventions and measures have been put in place. It is a societal matter and requires cooperation throughout the various spheres of government," Masualle said.
Azapo regional chairman Lungile Dick said that it was fine to have policies in place, but the problem was the system itself. "It is the beast that is corrupt," he said.
Derek Luyt, head of Media and Advocacy in the Public Service Accountability Monitor at Rhodes University, said no member of the panel had spoken of their track record in fighting corruption. And Makana DA councillor, Xolani Madyo, asked why they should trust Makana Mayor Vumile Lwana, when he had been keeping a lid on the practices recently exposed by the Auditor-General's report on the municipality.
Public opinions were read from emails and Facebook. One said, "The ruling party is not doing anything about corruption. Maybe we should give DA a chance." Cope representative Smuts Ngonyama, who was on the panel, said, “The ruling party is doing nothing about corruption, because they are feeding themselves.”
Luyt said the Municipal Systems Act Amendment Bill was to have been passed into law by Parliament, but hadn't even got that far, because there h
ad been no quorum to vote on it. This proposed legislation had been designed to strengthen the regulatory powers of the minister with regard to human resource systems and procedures for local government.
"Corruption is not just an election issue. All political parties must take a stand in fighting corruption in South Africa,” Luyt said.
ANC regional Deputy chairperson, Lungile Mxube, said the debate had gone well. "I think our provincial chair, Phumulo Masaulle, has articulated the ANC's perception of corruption as a societal cancer and our commitment to fighting it," Masaulle said.
He cited legislative frameworks such as the Special Investigating Unit and operation clean audit in the province. The latter had the goal of helping local municipalities to obtain clear audit reports by 2014. Madyo told Grocott's Mail he was very upset when he found out that the DA were not on the panel for the Election Debate.
“We heard about this debate only recently and we were told to bring only 20 members, while Azapo, Cope, UDM and ANC had to bring 100 each. That is unfair. Why did they tell us to bring such a small number?” Madyo said. "We hope after this debate the our parties will be able to identify those misusing government funds and call them to order," said one Cope member.
