Calling for national talks on corruption

THE Claremont Main Road Mosque (CMRM) is outraged by unrelenting reports claiming that public officials have been unashamedly stealing funds earmarked for Covid-19 relief efforts.

We are appalled by allegations that government officials unduly benefited from personal protective equipment tenders and other funds allotted for Covid-19 relief.

We call for the immediate suspension of officials implicated and for such individuals to be expeditiously tried by special courts. Those found guilty should not only be imprisoned but their assets confiscated so as to recoup the funds so desperately needed to serve the needs of the poor and marginalised.

We call on all religious leaders and institutions to amplify their efforts to expose endemic corruption in both the public as well as the private sector.

CMRM has since 2012 been leading inter-religious efforts aimed at combating corruption and we support the renewed campaign by civil society organisations to redouble our efforts in the fight against the scourge of corruption.

CMRM calls for the convening of an urgent national convention of independent civil society organisations to confront the deepseated and long legacy of corruption in South Africa that pre-dates the ANC government.

We call for a discussion of concrete steps that could be undertaken to bring those guilty of corruption to account, in both the public and private sector, and to suggest practical ways in which our public institutions can be strengthened to ensure transparency and ethical governance. |