YCL calls on Govt to act now against corruption

They say public trust in institutions has been eroded.

The Young Communist League (YCL) in Mpumalanga is calling on government to be seen as playing an active role in fighting the scourge of corruption.

The league said the people of South Africa no longer have trust in the country’s law enforcement agencies as institutions that can fight corruption without favours.

It said corruption “steals from the poor masses” and should be treated as the number one enemy and Covid-19 as enemy number two.

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“There are allegations of government officials and politicians diverting the nutritional services (food parcels) meant for struggling communities to their relatives and friends,” league leader Themba Ntimane said in a statement released Sunday 9 August 2020.

“There are allegations of the relatives and friends of government officials and politicians receiving tenders, including the child of the president and also allegations of government officials and politicians diverting funds meant for business relief, funds meant for frontline workers’ personal protective equipment (PPE), funds meant for service delivery at large being looted and the ANC-led government seems to drag [its] feet in dealing with this corruption and employing a delaying tactic of appointing a ministerial committee,” he said.

Ntimane said the public was gradually losing faith in the law enforcement agencies as they are seen as being not able to “independently carry out their duties without favors”. 

“This must be a time for actions if indeed the government is serious about fighting crime and protecting its citizens,” he said.

Celebrating Women’s Month in the country 

The YCL said they were joining millions of South Africans in commemorating the bravery and courage of South African women, especially the generation of 1956 that shaped the country’s struggle against Apartheid rule.

The overwhelming majority of women accept patriarchy unquestioningly and even protect it, working out the resultant frustrations not against men but against themselves in their competition for men as sons, lovers and husbands. Traditionally the violated wife bides her time and off-loads her built-in aggression on her daughter-in-law. So men dominate women through the agency of women themselves.”

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Ntimane said women continued to suffer at the hands of men –  at workplaces, churches, business communities, in organisations and at home.

“Women are still struggling and fighting to be recognised and valued. Gender based violence cases are rising daily and we call upon law enforcement agencies and all responsible men of this country to work together and restore the dignity of women and children,” he said.

He said the Covid-19 virus, which he himself recovered from, has disrupted the nutritional services of women and children which will result in undernutrition that will make them more susceptible to the infection. 

“We call upon our government to prioritise food security for South African women and children in particular and the South African working class in general,” he said.

(edited by ZK)

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