Accountability key for officials, says Zitumane
[caption id="attachment_209074" align="aligncenter" width="630"] STRESS ON LAW: Vuyo Zitumane at the breakfast dialogue at The Boardwalk
Picture: EUGENE COETZEE[/caption]
Transparency, upholding the law and accountability. These were among the principles of good governance shared by Nelson Mandela Bay corporate services executive director Vuyo Zitumane yesterday.
Zitumane was speaking at a breakfast dialogue at The Boardwalk organised by the Eastern Cape’s Black Management Forum (BFM).
She also challenged black professionals to uphold their integrity and maintain a good reputation.
Zitumane shared the podium with Port Elizabeth TVET College principal Khaya Matiso and Eastern Cape BFM provincial treasurer Cuma Dube.
The breakfast was themed “Being a black professional in public service: Decoupling the black professionals from state failure”.
Zitumane said: “I have always said I can lose everything but I refuse to lose my reputation. “Once you lose it you will never ever get it back.
“When you sleep at night and you hear a knock on your door, you immediately think it’s the Hawks. “But if you are a man or woman of integrity you sleep peacefully.
“We have the responsibility to uphold the principle of good governance. “The environment is toxic but we have always survived. “I am a survivor.
I can never ever allow myself to be corrupted by any politician.
“My responsibility to [politicians] is based on being competent,” she said.
Zitumane also stressed relevant qualifications before one was put in a position of power.
She told delegates that if a politician summoned a person to his or her office and started to talk about procurement, the conversation should be recorded.
Zitumane has been a government administrator for four municipalities in the past 12 years. The forum will also host two similar breakfasts in Bhisho and Queenstown next month.
Feedback from all three breakfasts will then be compiled and presented at a summit planned in East London in November.
