Chapter 9 institutions team up to monitor spending of KZN relief funds
The Office of the Public Protector has teamed up with fellow Chapter Nine institutions to keep a beady eye on any possible looting of funds meant for victims of the devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
This comes amid widespread concern that the relief money could end up in the pockets of corrupt officials.
Spokesperson Oupa Segalwe says the heads of these 10 watchdogs met on Tuesday under the banner of Forum for Institutions Supporting Democracy (FISD).
"They agreed to establish a nerve centre where the relevant transparency, accountability, and monitoring activities of some member institutions will be coordinated. The nerve centre will develop a plan of action and submit it to the heads of institutions.
"While agreeing that member institutions as independent bodies must carry on implementing their own individual mandates to hold the government to account in the aftermath of the disaster, they also resolved that this must be done in a way that complements each other’s roles where possible to avoid duplication of efforts."
Institutions on the forum include the Auditor-General of South Africa, the Commission for Gender Equality, the Financial and Fiscal Commission, and the South African Human Rights Commission.
READ:
