The Gauteng cabinet, which was supposed to be on the red carpet in parliament from six to nine on Wednesday night over indications of large-scale corruption with money budgeted for the relief of Covid-19, did not show up for the meeting.
Rather than account to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance, the provincial cabinet informed the members of parliament a few minutes before the start of the meeting that an emergency meeting of the Gauteng cabinet had been convened, so they would not be able to account.
Gauteng is now the core of the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa, with almost twice as many cases as the province in second place, the Western Cape.
The MEC for health in Gauteng, dr. Bandile Masuku, and the presidential spokesperson, Khusela Diko, are among the celebrities in ANC circles linked to alleged corruption in Gauteng, although they currently deny it.
MPs were outraged by the Gauteng cabinet’s hide-and-seek. MPs Bheki Hadebe (ANC), Cilliers Brink (DA) and Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi (EFF) condemned the conduct of the Gauteng cabinet, but the meeting had to postpone unfinished business to an indefinite date in the future.
