Corruption-ridden GCC worries Mayor
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday June 21, 2021 16:07
Alhough Gaborone mayor, Father Maphongo could not reveal the number of cases reported, he earlier today revealed to the GCC full council meeting that the council is worried by the level of corruption in the municipality.
“I wish to indicate to you that since we took office we have identified serious issues that border on corruption and fraud. Some of the issues have been picked through internal audit committee and I want to take this opportunity to applaud the audit committee for a job well done. My office and that of the Town Clerk have recently met with the director general of the DCEC recently and it came out that there are indeed some cases that are being investigated by the DCEC. Some of the cases are related to Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) plot allocation and public procurement. Some cases are being investigated by Botswana Police and examples are those related to misuse of imprest and fraud,” Maphongo said.
He said the DCEC has identified councils as government institutions where reported cases of corruption are high and even perception from the public is that councils are corrupt.
Maphongo further said the reason for the perception is that councils deal with matters that are prone to corruption.
“Examples of these areas are public procurement, human resource recruitment, land allocation and by-law enforcement. I wish to indicate that being in Gaborone and holding public office is a risk on its own and all need to manage that risk. For instance, people out there and even in-house may take advantage and use their cash power to oil our hands so that we bow down to their corrupt demands.
Therefore, I plead with all of us to support government efforts to fight corruption. If you see corruption happening and you do not report it, you will be considered to be part of it,' he said and aded: ' I will also request committees to be vigilant and ensure that they make decisions after informing themselves of what is being discussed.'
On other issues, Maphongo said the government of Botswana is also working on reviewing procurement laws to ensure that identified gaps are closed.