​13/11/2016 Corruption will be defeated in Johannesburg 

 
 
Corruption will be defeated in Johannesburg

I have noted with concern the report on Carte Blanche pertaining to the matter of corruption within the City’s Revenue Department.

Carte Blanche approached me two weeks ago in respect of this story indicating that the report had been handed to the previous administration in October 2015. They had further indicated that individuals involved in this matter are still within the employ of the City of Johannesburg.

When I announced Shadrack Sibiya as the new Head of the City’s Internal Investigations, I did so precisely because of this kind of corruption and the indifference of the previous administration to address it. This will now change.

In respect of this particular case, the employees implicated will be immediately suspended pending swift disciplinary processes. I will not rest until wrong-doers are arrested and the monies are recovered for our residents. I have already laid a criminal charge against those implicated and requested Shadrack Sibiya to prioritise this particular case, working with the HAWKS.

I am particularly alarmed by the manner in which the previous administration turned a blind-eye to this matter. The report, handed to the City in October 2015, gave the previous administration everything they needed to act on this matter. They chose to do the bare minimum in this regard.

As I said in the press conference of this week, I believe there are two kinds of corruption. Those who steel from the City and rob the poor of the money intended for service delivery. These people were clearly documented in the case presented by Carte Blanche. The second kind, are those who witness corruption and do not act with determination to address it. I will be addressing both categories during my tenure as Mayor.

I would like to assure the residents and ratepayers of Johannesburg that the future will be different under the new administration. Rather than turning a blind-eye to it, corruption will be sought out and hunted until there is no place for it to hide. At the heart of this, will be our commitment to viewing City monies as belonging to our residents, and merely entrusted to the City to provide services.

By the end of my term, the residents of the City of Johannesburg will see how things have changed. It is my job to deliver this change, and this is a privilege that I wholeheartedly accept.