From the Desk of the President: 30 August 2021

President Cyril Ramaphosa says perpetrators of corruption can only be brought to book if the fight against the crime is intensified.

In his weekly letter to the nation, he says over last the three years since the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture started its work, the country has heard of the lengths to which the perpetrators of corruption would go to conceal their misdeeds.

Ramaphosa says these include those who have established companies to move funds around and disguise payments made to politically connected individuals.

He says whistle-blowers play an important role in the fight against corruption and has promised to ensure that they are protected.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says as the net for corrupt people begins to close, there have been witnesses that are being threatened and even killed.

He says the murder of Babita Deokaran, a senior finance official in the Gauteng health department, is a stark reminder of the high stakes involved in a collective quest to remove this cancer from society.

Ramaphosa says his government will always strive to protect whistle-blowers as they play an important role in the country.

Day by day, brave South Africans like Babita Deokaran are standing firm that they will not be party to corruption and they are prepared to bear witness against it. We cannot let them down. https://t.co/0pNzgCN09V pic.twitter.com/sIZ9D3z0se

— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) August 30, 2021