Please find attached isiZulu soundbite by Mzamo Billy MP, and Setswana soundbite by Jane Tshidi Bokgwathile, DA councillor candidate.
– The alleged assassination plot against a SASSA manager must be thoroughly investigated.
– Minister Dina Pule must account to Parliament for fraud uncovered within SASSA.
– The DA demands protection for officials investigating fraud and corruption.
The DA calls on Minister Dina Pule to urgently account to Parliament on the alleged assassination plot against SASSA Eastern Cape Regional Manager Bandile Maqetuka.
Maqetuka is said to have been targeted while uncovering fraud and corruption involving suspected losses of R10 million.
The Minister must account for the extent of fraud uncovered within SASSA, the financial losses involved, the investigations underway and whether other officials may be at risk.
Minister Pule must also take the nation into her confidence about the steps being taken to protect Maqetuka and other officials involved in investigating fraud and corruption. We have also written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to put this matter on the agenda.
These allegations raise serious questions about the extent of fraud and corruption within SASSA, the networks allegedly benefiting from the abuse of the grant system, and whether officials tasked with exposing this wrongdoing are being adequately protected.
SASSA spent R267 billion on social grants in 2024/25 to support vulnerable South Africans.
We cannot afford to allow money intended to support the poor to be abused through fraud and corruption.
The DA will continue to hold the minister to account and ensure that we fight for beneficiaries of social grants. Public money must be protected, those responsible for fraud must be held accountable, and officials who expose corruption must be able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation.