Union calls for Premier to take action against corruption

September 2020

By Olebogeng Molale

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in the Northern Cape calls for the Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul to take action against those implicated in the Covid 19 tender irregularities. Nehawu recently held a march to the Premier’s office to hand over a memorandum of grievances as part of the national day of action, which took place last month.

The union said it was time for Dr Saul to take action against officials involved in corruption in the awarding of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) tenders. A couple of weeks ago, media reports claimed that a few companies were awarded tenders even-though they did not comply with the tender specifications. One article alleged that Dr Saul influenced the awarding of some of the tenders. The Premier has since denied the claims and reiterated his commitment to fight corruption, stating that those who want to dent his image and integrity will not intimidate him. “We must fight corruption and looting in all its manifestation. As the Northern Cape provincial government, we will continue to do whatever it takes to root out corruption” said Saul

Nehawu Provincial Secretary Steffen Cornelius stressed that the Premier must act swiftly to deal with any corruption claims and take action against those implicated. “We have asked the Premier on several occasions to suspend everyone implicated in corruption because as we speak, our members are struggling with personal protective clothing as a result of corruption. We will continue to make this call, we will not fold our arms when our people are struggling,” added Cornelius. Premier Dr Saul promised that his office would respond to the grievances in due course during the memorandum’s acceptance.

“We will respond to your memorandum. We know that our province faces many challenges that require us to work together to improve our people’s lives and provide them with efficient service. We call all today to join hands with the Northern Cape provincial government to fight against poverty,” stated Saul.

Comments are closed.