SOWETAN | Protect heroes who expose corruption

Nhlanhla Mkhize has emerged as a hero who deserves to be celebrated for his patriotic act of exposing the looting of public funds. Mkhize is a director of Mkhize Gcwabe Properties, a company contracted to assist with the construction of Semphatho Secondary School in Soshanguve.

It was during this project that Mkhize uncovered shocking evidence of corruption in which contractors were allegedly invoicing the Gauteng government for work that had not been carried out.

For example, one contractor was paid R6.1m for paving, yet there is no paving at the school. According to Mkhize’s calculations, a staggering R16m was paid to service providers for work that was never completed. That is R16m of taxpayers’ money — funds meant to build a school — stolen. The looting syndicate is believed to involve government contractors, consultants, and officials.

Mkhize could easily have chosen to negotiate a deal for himself and join the looting spree. Instead, a year ago he took the courageous step of reporting the matter to the department. Initially, however, the officials who were supposed to attend to his complaint were unavailable, taking time off work and proving difficult to reach.

Weeks later, he was finally allowed to present his allegations, and a promise was made that the department’s risk management unit would conduct a proper audit. But since then, no follow-up meetings have been called. Rather than investigating, attempts were made to muscle him out of the project.

This country needs more men and women like Mkhize — individuals who are willing to stand up against corruption even when it comes at personal cost. The Gauteng government must move swiftly to ensure that Mkhize’s allegations are thoroughly investigated.

Law enforcement officials should also step in to bring to justice those who stole public funds. Corruption is not just a crime; it robs citizens of the services they desperately need.

While we applaud Mkhize’s bravery, we also call on the government to guarantee his safety. He must be protected from the criminal networks that are looting money meant for schools. We cannot afford to wait until he suffers the same fate as other whistleblowers, such as Babita Deokaran, who paid with her life after exposing wrongdoing.

Our government has often spoken about the importance of protecting whistleblowers, yet too many of them are killed soon after coming forward. If those words are to mean anything, decisive action must follow. Protecting whistleblowers is not optional — it is essential if SA is to root out corruption and restore faith in public institutions.