Cosatu: Government And Business Lack Good Governance

"The future, both economic and political, is not sustainable."
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Cosatu general-secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali in Braamfontein.Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Mduduzi Ndzingi.
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COSATU general-secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali has lashed out against government and business, saying both sectors lack good governance and contribute to the corruption in South Africa.

"From the trade union movement, both business and government are sharing the lack of good governance from different angles. Business has no authority to complain about government without taking some of the blame," he said.

Ntshalintshali was speaking at the National Economic Development and Labour Council's (NEDLAC) annual summit at Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg on Friday.

"The future, both economic and political, is not sustainable," he said.

"What are we trying to address here? 9.3 million people are unemployed, 70 million live on social grant, 12 million go to bed hungry every day."

Ntshalintshali said big businesses in South Africa are on an investment strike, and when they do invest, it does not necessarily result in job creation. Then, he lashed out at State-Owned Enterprises.

"There's a mounting concern of the increased corruption, lack of accountability, and wasteful expenditure...One of our leading airlines, the SAA, has forced government to pump billions of Rands into it per annum which could have been used for service delivery," he said.

"Eskom is now regarded as a symbol of corruption. The SABC is on the verge of collapse. It is not about the lack of legislation, it is not about the skills, it is a question of being transparent in how we deal with our businesses, especially in SOEs."

Ntshalintshali said members of Cabinet need to worry about the affairs of the State, rather than their own personal endeavors.

"Our government has been accused of deploying people based on their political connection, which raises issues as to who is a good official...Corruption in our country does pay, crime does pay in our country," he said.

"There are people who are displaying how they get rich, plainly displaying arrogance about doing corrupt businesses. Unless we can stand up as a society and say crime does not pay, we are in a big hole that we need to address, and address urgently, because we are running out of time."