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By Gaye Davis and Bronwyn Gerretsen
With corruption and fraud eating away at the South African public and private sectors, President Jacob Zuma has ordered his cabinet to come up with a plan that will prove the government is committed to stamping out the evil, rather than just making empty promises.
Yesterday, cabinet spokesman Themba Maseko said a team of ministers, headed by Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane, would be expected to present a concrete strategy to deal with the scourge at the January cabinet lekgotla.
This would inform Zuma's second State of the Nation address in February.
'We want to deal decisively with the perception that corruption is on the rise in the country' "We want to deal decisively with the perception that corruption is on the rise in the country and this committee will be set up to do all that is necessary to ensure decisive action is taken against all those involved in corruption," he said.
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A report by the Public Service Commission on corruption in the public service had been the "tipping point", prompting the decision.
The team will include Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka, Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Social Development Minister Edna Molewa and "representatives from the security cluster".
"South Africa takes very strong exception to corruption as this is a matter that has a negative impact on the country's reputation," Maseko said.
The announcement comes a day after Transparency International ranked South Africa 55th out of ' countries in the 2008 Corruptions Perceptions Index.
84 percent were committed by junior and middle management This week, the Special Investigating Unit reported to MPs on a multimillion-rand trail of kickbacks and procurement irregularities involving prisons contracts.
The year also saw bombshell revelations of how more than 2 000 civil servants rigged tenders valued at R600 million to enrich themselves or their families.
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