Joburg’s anti-graft unit chief lays down the law

10 July 2017

 

The fight against corruption was not negotiable, General Shadrack Sibiya, the Commissioner of the City of Johannesburg’s Group Forensics and Investigation Services (GFIS) unit, said on Friday July 7.

 

Addressing GFIS officials at the conclusion of the corruption-busting unit’s three-day breakaway session in Centurion to plan how to win the war against graft, Gen Sibiya said professionalism and unity would be key to its success.

He said the most important step - the signing of performance contracts by all the unit’s officials - had been taken.

“The first warning shot has been fired and the unit has hit the ground running. Our objective is clear - ridding the City of corruption as mandated by [Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba] and his executive,” General Sibiya said.

He called on the unit’s members to act with integrity, to always fight for one another and to never forget that their service was for the good of the City and ratepayers. He added that nothing short of excellence was expected from members, adding that he was encouraged by the support the unit was receiving from Mayor Mashaba, Members of the Mayoral Committee and City Manager Dr Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni in the quest to create a corrupt-free environment and ensure high levels of service delivery.

Gen Sibiya said there needed to be clear reporting lines and set standards to place the unit in a position to do its work effectively. The unit’s first legacy project is to deal decisively with crime and corruption linked to the hijacking of buildings, particularly in the Johannesburg inner city.

Mayor Mashaba has called for a sustained campaign involving raids and the arrest of the culprits. He said the inner city must be free of chaos, corruption and crime.

The City’s Strategic Management Services Director, Lizzie Ramogale, said the GFIS team had achieved about 95% of the objectives set before the three-day strategic session. “I’m happy the team now has a clearer picture of what is expected of them from the Mayor, City Manager and the audit committee,” she said.

Ramogale said the performance scorecards would give a proper direction of where the unit was going.

Mayor Mashaba appointed General Sibiya to head the internal anti-corruption unit November last year, about three months after he took over the reins as the city of Joburg’s Executive Mayor.