Cosatu calls for govt facelift

The ANC needs to “give a facelift to its government” and make sure it deploys people of high integrity who will at all times act with utmost professionalism, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said yesterday.

Responding to the ANC’s statement, delivered by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa in East London on Saturday, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the trade union federation supported the ANC national executive committee’s (NEC) firm commitment to fight corruption.

Cosatu also agreed with the assertion that all forms of corruption had to be “exposed and prosecuted, including corruption, collusion, and other criminal activities in the private sector”.

“Cosatu supports the call by the ANC NEC for strong and efficient law-enforcement agencies to lead the fight against corruption and crime in general. For this to be achieved, the ANC needs to give a facelift to its government and make sure that it deploys people of high integrity who will at all times act with utmost professionalism.

“Some members of the current executive are second-rate and not helpful to the cause of a people-centred and people-driven development.

“The ANC cannot continue to ignore the fact that since 2009, about 216 directors general have been suspended, removed, or shifted in 32 government departments. This is unsustainable and wholly unacceptable,” Pamla said.

“The fact of the matter is that South Africa is still condemned to junk status by the rating agencies, which, among others, was justified on the basis of instability within government.

“Decisive action needs to be taken to stop this from continuing or we risk failing to sustain the positive economic results that we have seen,” Pamla said.