State Procurement Tzar Kenneth Brown’s work just made it easier for the looters

By Alec Hogg
An interview barely three months ago left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling about progress in SA’s battle against corruption. After events of the past week the same discussion will send shivers down any rational spine.
On December 15, I opined that Treasury’s outgoing Chief Procurement Officer Kenneth Brown was leaving a strong legacy. Under his watch, disparate State spending tentacles had been drawn R500bn a year into a central place. One of former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s prime projects, it would ensure abuse of taxpayer funds could be stopped.
National Treasury’s Head of Procurement Kenneth Brown. Pic from Twitter
With hindsight, those well-intended efforts actually made it easier for the plunderers to extract even more from the public purse. Now that the wrong hands have the keys to the National Treasury, looting of taxpayer funds can be taken to a new level. It is enough to make a grown man retch.
Jacob Zuma’s actions of the past week has taken SA’s young democracy to the brink. Believe it.
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