During this time of the year, some media outlets publish scorecards which claim to assess government’s performance for the period January to December.
The assessments are unscientific and based purely on media clippings and the opinions of individual journalists rather than on concrete evidence of government performance.
The progress made by Government in fighting corruption in the public sector must be matched by an equally vigorous effort in other sectors of society.
All South Africans should be encouraged by the President’s revelation in Parliament this week that 235 officials have been found guilty of misconduct since the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline, and as a result of successful investigations.
The President pointed out that R100 million had been recovered from perpetrators.
Thank you for availing yourselves and thanks to the DGs for making time in their busy schedules to attend this interaction, as part of government communication. We consider this interaction as an extended platform to share substantive information with specialist writers in the area of the work of this cluster.
Government welcomes initiatives by civil society, media and business to identify incidents of bribery and corruption in the country and bring it to the attention of law enforcement agencies.
A recent, informal poll conducted by the Lead SA initiative in collaboration with Primedia Broadcasting and the Independent Newspapers demonstrates the concern showed by people in a number of urban areas over alleged bribery and corruption among Metro Police officials.
Next Tuesday will mark a seminal point in the history of South Africa. The inauguration of the country’s third democratically elected President will be combined with the celebration of the ten years of freedom on 27 April 2004, the exact day democracy was born in South Africa.
This ceremony will involve over 6 000 guests among them Heads of State, international icons, diplomats and statesmen as well as an estimated crowd of at least 40 000 at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. There will be eight big screens on the grounds to provide visuals for the expected crowd.
Government has noted a report in various Independent Newspaper stables alleging, without any substance, that former Ministers Barbara Hogan of Public Enterprises and Geoff Doige of Public Works were replaced as Members of the Executive because they spoke out against corruption.
The work of government will continue uninterrupted following the changes to the National Executive announced by President Jacob Zuma on 31 October 2010.
Government Communications (GCIS) is duty-bound to respond to the highly speculative Mail &Guardian (M&G) (October 29) feature "Govt to apply ideology to adspend".
The M&G suggests that in view of The New Age's entry into the media market, Government will redirect its spending on advertising to ensure that 60 percent of this expenditure will go to the SABC and 30 percent to The New Age, both branded as "patriotic media" by the M&G and its - once again - unnamed sources.
Government Spokesperson, Mr Themba Maseko, would like to inform members of the media that the Special Cabinet meeting that President Jacob Zuma has convened today, 25 October 2010, is still in session and will end later on in the day. Members of the media will be advised later on the way forward.
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
