Madam Speaker, thank you very much. When the rot of fraud and the fermentation of corruption started to eat away the trust of the people in the state, Cope was regarded as a disgruntled lot.
When the call was made for the distinction between party and state in order for those party deployees to be mindful that they are in the service of the state and should not be rewarded, Cope was called a bunch of sore losers.
We are making this charge today because it is with a profound sense of vindication that even Cosatu, only now, has identified tenders as "the biggest enemy of the revolution".
Tenders, as the largest enterprise in our economy, have become a source of great depression for the vulnerable youth of our country and a source of more despair for the poor and aspirant SMMEs. This sordid state of affairs is mechanised by some in the Public Service, especially in the SMS band, who are entrusted with the confidence of the people to transact, on their behalf, equitably and justifiably for the good of the greater society.
The government has failed to ensure compliance with the following provisions of law: the Public Service Act of 1994 as amended; Public Service Regulations; the Public Finance Management Act of 1999; the Treasury Regulations and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I must emphasise that, as the chairperson of the committee has in fact indicated, the Minister was informed about this violation of the Act and has so far not acted. This has now placed a black cloud over the entire state when, in fact, it may not be necessary. These laws were ratified by this very House after laborious deliberations. However, enforcement is the noble duty of a government that is tasked by the electorate - and this government is. As Cope, we have been horrified by the fact that 434 officials in the Public Service have failed to declare their commercial interests and activities. The Auditor-General has reported on that. Of course, it is suggested that R540 million is in question and this being verified. We are further repulsed that 30 of these officials have acted against these interests and activities in the very department where they, in fact, had influence and authority.
In line with President Zuma's statement yesterday, when he was responding to the Cope leader hon Dandala, he said that government is committed to rooting out corruption. In response, we are unsure whether this can be the truth, but we want to make a call on the Minister to investigate the allegation that a certain Mr Zondi, a director of acquisition in the SANDF, might have vested interests in a company called Origin Exchange Consulting (Pty) Ltd. This company appears to have the same registered address, 2 Jessica Place, Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, as Mr Zondi's company, Oak Trading 190 (Pty) Ltd.
Interestingly, Origin Exchange, which won the tender bid B/G/894/08, during a moratorium period, did not meet the tender criteria of five years of ordnance removal experience, and invoiced the Department of Defence on 22 June 2009 when the tender was only awarded in August this year!
These officials are fishing in the sink and dealing a double blow to the country by hiding some ill-gotten riches and not paying tax as they are keeping the money away from prying eyes.
In this regard, we are talking about an amount of over half a billion rand that is in question in the fiscal year. [Time expired.] [Applause.]