Neglect of public servants fuels corruption

The arrest of 10 police officials in a Johannesburg raid for counterfeit goods is of serious concern. The police officers, like many public servants, are placed in a very difficult situation. They can not cope with the current status quo where there earnings are far from adequate or fair.

They are not promoted, they are underpaid and, as a result, the police are getting involved in corrupt activities. The Land Party calls on the minister of police Bheki Cele to introduce a clear promotion policy before many families destroyed.

Members of the South African Police, Correctional Services, Traffic and the Department of Health come from poor families. Many of them could not afford an opportunity to further their studies. Therefore it is of great concern when they lose their jobs by participating in corrupt activities because they cannot maintain themselves and their families financially, and won't have much else to turn to other than the world of crime.

The Land Party asks the law to be partial and to not give them punitive sanctions for their crimes. We ask that they consider that public servants are suffering in South Africa while politicians are living a lavish lifestyle. Many public servants can only just afford to feed themselves and their families and buying their own home is a pipe dream.

We appeal to the ministers of police, justice and health, to consider introducing promotion policies for public servants. We also ask the minister of public works to take a good look at the salaries of all public servants and make sure that they are suitably increased.

The Land Party call on banks to take cognisance of the fact that a person is employed as a public servant as financial security when considering their home loan applications. Public servants are neglected in our country and they are suffering. We implore them to not to use their dire situation to get involved in corrupt activities. They must know that they are coming from poor backgrounds and they are the breadwinners in their families and they must fight for a living wage instead of turning to crime.

The Land Party asks that police, traffic, correctional services and nurses get promoted every 4th year and get salary increases every two years as a start to addressing this very serious problem.

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