DA wants NW Premier to highlight state capture, SIU reports

Central SA

─── LUCKY NKUYANE 14:49 Wed, 16 Feb 2022

Volume 1 of the State Capture and Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports, which have highlighted corruption and fraud across provincial departments and municipalities in the North West, are set to feature in the maiden SOPA of premier Bushy Maape.

The province featured quite extensively in volume 1 of the State Capture Report, which was officially handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2022. The DA Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL), Freddy Sonakile, tells OFM News that the municipal rot continues to flourish, yet there has not been a single word on the way forward from the Premier. Sonakile adds that a first step will be to tell the people of North West how far along the lifestyle audits of your Exco members are, as announced by your predecessor last year.

“The DA looks forward to North West Premier, Bushy Maape, finally coming out of the cocoon he has been hiding in since September 2021, and dares him to deliver an actual State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Friday 18 February 2022. In his maiden speech after his election, the Premier promised to form a 'strong battalion against corruption'. Volume 1 of the State Capture Report and the SIU report into PPE corruption, implicated the province,” he adds.

Maape’s spokesperson, Sello Tatai, says in his address Premier Maape is expected to highlight the provincial government’s plans to resuscitate the economy, expedite the delivery of basic services, and creation of jobs.

Meanwhile, the North-West University political analyst, André Duvenhage, told OFM News that he expects Premier Maape to touch on coalition politics, which somehow seem to hamper the work of local government. Duvenhage said Maape, who ascended to this office following the controversial sacking of former Premier Job Mokgoro, will also be forced to speak on the provision of basic and adequate service delivery.

In the first volume of the State Capture Report, it reads: “After dealing with SAA and SAAT, this chapter of the report then sets out the findings relating to an investigation conducted by the Commission into allegations that high-ranking officials in the North West provincial government had colluded with functionaries at SA Express to syphon millions of Rands out of the North West provincial government’s coffers in order to benefit themselves, their families and the ruling party”.

OFM News