Church leaders in various cities across South Africa will embark on a silent protest against COVID-19 related corruption from midday on Tuesday.
The protest forms part of a countrywide campaign against corruption which the South African Council of Churches (SACC) has organised this month under the banner #CorruptionIsNotOurHeritage.
In Gauteng, church leaders will gather at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
In Cape Town, church leaders will join the protest in groups of five every 20 minutes between 12:00 and 13:00 outside St Georges Cathedral. This in compliance with lockdown regulations.
SACC General Secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana says, “As the SACC, we have dedicated this Heritage month to a campaign that will denounce corruption as being part of the South African identity. We are saying as the churches and active citizens, that we refuse for our nation’s culture and heritage to be one of stealing, and defrauding of public resources. Corruption, especially this blatant looting of COVID-19 funds that has been reported, is criminal and continues to cost us lives and livelihoods as a country.”
In the audio below, Bishop Mpumlwana outlines details of the planned protests:
Churches denounce alleged PPE-tender corruption
SACC Vice President Reverend Frank Chikane has called for ethical governance at all levels of society – including the church.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa, some government officials have been accused of corruption in relation to the rewarding of tenders for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Chikane says he is deeply troubled by what he terms ‘unethical and corrupt leaders without shame’, who are corrupt at the expense of those who are sick and frontline workers.
In the video below, church leaders speak out against corruption:
