Johannesburg – OUTA’s Wayne Duvenage said that it was crucial that the state worked to recover taxpayer funds in addition to criminally prosecuting the looters.
On Wednesday, the Special Tribunal ruled in the Special Investigating Unit (SIU)’s favour to include five additional entities and individuals in civil litigation that it has launched to recover the money spent on the Health Department’s Digital Vibes contract.
When it comes to government corruption, the focus is generally on criminally prosecutions, but Duvenage said that this kind of civil action was also crucial.
“It is extremely important because we are broke as a nation, we need to get back all proceeds of crime, corruption, maladministration from the perpetrators, we just cannot this money to be spent in the way it has been, so it is important. But I think what’s first and foremost important is that accountability is meted out, that people face the music and spend jail time, that’s what people are looking for and notwithstanding that, we also need to claw back as much money as we can,” said Duvenage.
