In fact, during his testimony before the Special Select Committee appointed to investigate BMC troubles, the minister pledged his support for the committee and how he views it as critical to his ministry. The Forensic Audit that was supposed to take off two to three years ago could have saved the hundreds of millions that went down the drain because of poor management of the abattoir. Although previous witnesses have pinpointed the minister as the main cause of the BMC woes, it remains to be seen what the forensic audit will reveal should it take place.
More interesting were De Graaff's revelations that the management was not performing up to standard, something, which was known by some in the BMC but chose to conceal that information for fear of being sabotaged. The minister repeatedly told the committee that he believed the information he was getting from BMC management, board and GRM Consultants was untrue until things were totally out of control. We hope that de Graaff's colleagues in Cabinet will learn one or two things from his experience. We will not be discouraged to say it as many times as possible, that this country needs laws that promote transparency and accountability. It is our view that government departments, including parastatals, should hold regular press briefings to update the nation, and the leadership of the country on their operations. We were recently accused of reporting negatively about the country, but nobody cares to listen when we complain of officers who do not want to release information to the public.
