COSATU condemns the intimidation and vilification of those who are speaking up against corruption
19 July 2017
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is deeply worried by the escalation in political violence and incidents of intimidation in the country. This lack of political tolerance is deeply troubling and we call on all political leaders to speak out openly against it. The federation is happy to hear that both the National Parliament and the SAPS have at long last acknowledged the threats directed at Comrade Makhosi Khoza and are committed to offering her the necessary protection.
COSATU is fully supportive of the fight against corruption and we denounce the intimidation of those who are speaking out against corruption. The intimidation of Cde Solly Mapaila , Makhosi Khoza , Former Sassa CEO Thokozani Magwaza and others; is something that should not be tolerated by South Africans.
These courageous leaders are speaking for all of us and we should encourage people to dissent against an indifferent government and fight against wasteful expenditure , looting and corruption. We also wish the councillors that were shot at in Umzimkhulu a speedy recovery and call on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned to find and deal with the perpetrators It is deeply troubling to see that the level of political deterioration has led to some within the movement replicating apartheid tendencies.
The federation insists that all workers and citizens of this country should all find the corruption and the looting of state resources in this country quote bothersome. We should all be vocally impatient with this grave retardation of our democracy and economy. If we all fail to speak out against corruption , we will be betraying the anti- corruption crusaders like Cde Moss Phakoe ,who paid the ultimate price fighting to eradicate the cancer of corruption. Cde Moss Phakoe was shot and killed outside his home in March 2009, two days after submitting a dossier containing evidence of corruption in the Rustenburg municipality
We should honour these fearless leaders like him by supporting those who speak out against corruption and we ourselves should refuse to be silenced. The current political and economic situation should be a wakeup call to us as country that our so called exceptionalism is an amount of scale not of quality. We are currently learning the hard way that the slip of reason brings forth monsters.
Issued by Sizwe Pamla, National Spokesperson, COSATU, 19 July 2017
