Graft-busting is tops – Gigaba
TARGET: ‘PEOPLE GOT SA DOCUMENTS AND LATER BECAME INVOLVED IN CORRUPT ACTIVITIES’
Announces repositioning of department to facilitate economic development.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has prioritised combatting corruption and improving front office service on his return to the department after a year.
Addressing top management in Pretoria yesterday, Gigaba appeared to be elated at reuniting with his former colleagues.
“I am like that truant husband who runs away from home, then comes back and apologises and is accepted, then runs away and returns again.
“It is great to get an opportunity to complete the vision that we had set. It has to carry on,” he said.
Echoing the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation address last month to turn the tide on corruption, Gigaba said the department would destroy the relationship between the “corrupters and the corruptees”.
“There are a number of challenges we are facing. One is to ensure corruption and fraud within the department and outside it is combatted. That we cut the link between the officials and members of the public who are hellbent on engaging in corruption. We need to strengthen those efforts.
“We need to review the ro- bustness of our systems in that regard because some of these are prominent cases in which people obtained South African documents and later were found to be involved in corrupt and nefarious activities,” he said.
Former president Jacob Zuma replaced former finance minister Pravin Gordhan with Gigaba in March last year.
Announcing his first Cabinet this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa moved Gigaba back to lead the department of home affairs.
Last week, Home Affairs immigration officials raided the offices of Gupta-linked news channel ANN7, as it was believed that the work permits of several staff members from India had expired.
“We also want to start implementing the changes in the international migration white paper which we adopted in 2016.
“One of the urgent things we need to finalise is the repositioning of the department.
“Much as we have Cabinet approval to locate it as part of the security cluster, we also decided to reposition the department to play a role in facilitating economic development in the country.
“That means supporting our ports of entry and tourism, ensuring we play a role in empowering citizens with the documents enabling them to play an economic role.”