Profiting from disaster is how ‘scavengers’ operate, Cyril Ramaphosa says

Attempting to profit from a disaster such as SA’s Covid-19 lockdown is the act of “scavengers” and is a “heinous crime”, which will see the perpetrators dealt with decisively and harshly, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.

He said it could not be explained why a councillor would stockpile emergency food parcels meant for the poor, for their own families, or to discern what drives a family whose member stole funds meant for unemployed workers to go on a spending spree. “They have opened up the wounds of the state capture era, where senior figures in society seemed to get away with corruption on a grand scale,” Ramaphosa said.

“If, as public servants and political office-bearers, we claim to be serious about restoring public trust that has been severely eroded by corruption, we must avoid even the perception of conflicts of interest,” he said. He said the current regulations, such as annual financial disclosure — aimed at discouraging public servants doing business with the state — as well as declaration of interests, were “clearly not enough”.

He said the government was determined to finally deal with entrenched patronage networks that enabled government employees to bid for state contracts through their friends and relatives.

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