LETTER: Swift justice please

The latest arrests of eThekwini Metro employees, councillors and their accomplices involved in alleged crimes of fraud and corruption must be dealt with swiftly by the criminal justice system if the country is serious about uprooting corruption and malfeasance.

The blitz by the Hawks’ clean audit task team that led to 15 people being arrested for their alleged role in a R208m tender scam involving the city’s waste management arm, Durban Solid Waste, is welcome. But unless South Africans see convictions of high-profile individuals who provide political cover for these alleged crimes, public confidence in the criminal justice system will continue to decline.

Citizens have a huge trust deficit with regards to the criminal justice system as too often high-ranking politicians escape censure for involvement in financial crimes while junior or mid-level bureaucrats take the fall.

With the latest arrests being linked to the criminal matter involving eThekwini’s former mayor Zandile Gumede, it is imperative that a watertight case be presented to the court to avoid unnecessary delays to the start of the trial.

The successful conviction and sentencing of those involved is a must if we are to hold guilty municipal officials accountable.

Tim Tyrrell
Outa regional manager for local government