Zikalala 'lied' about construction mafia arrests, claims DA
The DA claims Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala misled South Africans when he said more than 200 members of the so-called construction mafia were arrested.
The party's Sello Seitlholo said on Sunday that the South African Police Service had failed to corroborate Zikalala's claims.
In July, Zikalala said some 600 individuals had been arrested in connection with construction mafias.
The construction mafias, which forces companies in the sector to pay protection fees, are believed to cost the country's economy more than R68 billion.
"Zikalala must be held accountable for deliberately going out of his way to mislead the nation through false information," said Seitlholo.
"The DA will use the next available opportunity when Zikalala is due to appear before the Portfolio Committee of Public Works and Infrastructure to demand that he own up to his lies.
"If Zikalala refuses to acknowledge his false crime statistics, the DA will refer the case to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interest and request that they investigate the potential violation of the Executive Members Ethics Act and Code of Conduct by the minister."
ALSO READ:
