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Mboweni Calls For Decisive Action Against Those Stealing COVID-19 Funds

Mboweni Calls For Decisive Action Against Those Stealing COVID-19 Funds

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has called for those who steal funds intended to ease the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown to be dealt with decisively.

Mboweni was speaking in the National Assembly on Wednesday after debate on the fiscal framework he tabled with his supplementary budget last month.

South Africa has yet to deal decisively with the corruption that engulfed the country over the past decade, but perhaps Tito Mboweni is more optimistic than most.

“As Minister of Finance, I am very concerned, that no sooner had we made budget allocations towards the COVID-19 interventions than tsotsis started to plan to steal. That is a very serious problem that we have to deal with and deal with decisively, to make sure that the funds allocated reach their intended purpose.”

Mboweni again tried to quash fear-mongering about South Africa’s approach to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We’re going to borrow US$4.2bn. Of course, somebody says you’ve got be careful about [SA’s] sovereignty… why do you think we are going to sell out the country? Why fight for the liberation of the country and then you go and sell it out? We wouldn’t do anything like that.”

EWN

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