Covid-19 criminals in South Africa ‘don’t have shame' - UN
The United Nations wants to see the successful prosecution of all those arrested in connection with the theft of Covid-19 relief funds in South Africa.
Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nardos Bekele-Thomas said the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) has described Covid-19 corruption in South Africa as murder has caused the country immense reputational damage.
She was speaking at an International Anti-Corruption Day hosted by government.
In the county's economic hub of Gauteng, close 100 companies have been probed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in connection with Covid-19 corruption.
This while the Democratic Alliance (DA) has claimed that close to R5 billion has been lost to Covid-19 corruption.
Bekele-Thomas said the UN applauded President Cyril Ramaphosa for signing the proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate the misuse of Covid-19 funds.
"To uphold the reputations of our institutions and amend public confidence it is important to that all the arrests lead to prosecutions.”
Bekele-Thomas also urged government to urgently implement emergency procurement regulations to avoid similar scandals in future.
She said while emergency procurement is meant to support the most vulnerable in society, it has proven attractive for those who want to steal from the poor.
"The perpetrators of this corruption do not have shame, they do not have empathy and sympathy for those whose lives they are robbing from."
