The theme that informs the work of this conference, 'fighting corruption and safeguarding integrity,' correctly presumes our ability as political leaders, business leaders, civil society, public intellectuals and academics, and others, to identify the root causes of corruption and accordingly work out the most effective ways and means to combat it.
She said ordinary people should also be at the forefront of fighting the scourge in an effort to safeguard the South Africa's young democracy.
The department has signed a further Service Level Agreement with the SIU mandating them to investigate fraud, corruption and maladministration in low-income housing contracts. This is the focus for the current financial year, and will enable the department to understand the type of abuse giving rise to blocked projects and allow us to improve our systems and processes while getting rid of corrupt officials and contractors.
Instead, we should work tooth and nail to ensure that government at the municipal level is not only free of mismanagement and corruption, but also delivers services efficiently and speedily.
Despite the fact that corruption in the eyes of many of our people appears to be deeply entrenched in the system and that it sometimes seems inevitable, we need to fight on and improve our efforts to tackle this problem. It is our duty to do so if we are to remain true to President Jacob Zuma's call to hold ourselves to the highest standard of service, probity and integrity. We must raise a hand, raise a finger!
There are pockets of excellence in policing in the Republic of South Africa and there are areas that really need to be addressed in a very serious form, he said in an interview.
"The pools of ugliness will be the number of police who are arrested because they are corrupt. Once this organisation is well-oiled, I can assure you criminals will begin to run. You can't have a weak organisation and expect it to give you the best results," Cele said.
Cele said there was corruption everywhere and "even Jesus Christ found one among the twelve".
Corruption is like cancer. It attacks the healthy working of the economy; it spreads insidiously; and eventually it kills economic activity. Corrupt officials, like cancer cells, benefit themselves but harm all around them. Countries have been ruined by corruption.
"Corruption is a challenge. About 420 officials are on suspension or have been dismissed for performing undesirable activities," he told reporters at the National Press Club in Pretoria.
The country's vice-president, Kgalema Motlanthe, admits that at every level of government the scourge is "far worse than anyone imagines".
"We need to focus on issues we know are specific impediments: fraud, delays, corruption, absentee contractors, ghost houses, shoddy workmanship again and corruption around waiting lists."
"There is lots of money doing the rounds in our organisation from people trying to buy votes, people trying to get into leadership positions".
"It is clear that the time has come for the organisation to act. We must take a decision that those who engage in such activities are in fact undermining the organisation and its work and at worst, are undermining the unity of the organisation. Action must be taken against them".
A Cabinet Inter-Ministerial Committee has been established to coordinate government efforts to fight corruption. The IMC works with institutions such as the Public Protector, Auditor General, and the Special Investigating Unit to coordinate efforts.
Cosatu's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi announced last week that the trade federation would set up an anti-corruption unit, which would include a team of lawyers, accountants and auditors to conduct preliminary investigations and process these with the relevant authorities.