Deputy Speaker, a vicious cycle has been set in motion in South Africa where large-scale looting of state resources is having intolerable consequences for ordinary citizens. The poor and marginalised are the most affected by the serial corruption that has taken root. There is a dire and urgent need to clean up the corruption, and Cope welcomes that.
Yesterday the Hawks uncovered fraud worth R200 million in KwaZulu-Natal. People allegedly involved in the scam include former KwaZulu-Natal Treasury head and current CEO of Ithala Bank, Sipho Shabalala. The former KwaZulu- Natal Health Department chief financial officer, Sipho Buthelezi, is likewise implicated. The Uruguay businessman Gaston Savoy, who supplied services at grossly exaggerated prices, has had his assets temporarily seized. These include the City Royal Hotel in Pietermaritzburg, Steamburg Hotel in Constantia and Shamwari Lodge in the Eastern Cape.
Any corruption that is exposed and its perpetrators made to face the full might of the law is a victory. Cope welcomes the new-found fervour in government to fight corruption. Our support for government action will increase if the present action is not serving as a decoy.
The looting of the state, wherever it occurs and whoever it is that is involved, must be eradicated with single-minded purpose. The government has made a promising start, now it must show in action that it has a stomach to expose those who are highly connected, as well as those who are occupying high positions in government. [Time expired.]