Another bloated project that is robbing the hungry

ON our front page today, we lift the lid on a spending spree projected to total more than R1-billion at Enyokeni near Nongoma in Zululand. This project is going to become a major headache for everyone associated with it, and if the recommendations of the forensic auditors are implemented, several people could go to jail.

Rightly so, because it seems almost every applicable rule, law and regulation was flouted.

The Enyokeni project is the latest, and surely one of the worst, in a slew of examples of a government whose fruitless, irregular and wasteful expenditure has reached a point almost beyond comprehension.

In this case all that was needed was a request by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, and the government threw out any semblance of legality or due process.

Of course, culture is important and the reed dance should be held in an appropriate venue so that the women taking part are not inconvenienced or disrespected.

The problem is the price tag of R1-billion, which, surely, is excessive. Even the king is reportedly shocked. What a pity he didn’t raise his concern earlier. Surely one takes the responsibility to inquire?

Venal politicians, officials and contractors will always exist, across the globe. The difference between failure and success as a country is whether the red lights flash, and whether they are heeded.

In this case, the Gobodo auditors did the country proud. Their investigation was thorough and their findings and recommendations clear.

These findings and recommendations must now be implemented and the guilty severely punished, as a consequence and a warning.

The project must be cancelled, not just halted, and start from the beginning. Legal process must be followed and financial prudence practised, because every cent wasted is one taken from the mouths of poor and vulnerable people.