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Of course there will be denials of any underhand use of public monies - that's yours and mine - to promote a particular party, but it seems the Public Protector is taking it seriously enough, and according to the Mail & Guardian report "has decided to conduct a preliminary investigation into advertising billboards put up by the Gauteng province in ANC colours." Mail & Guardian also reports that the campaign is worth millions of rands, and "features billboards, street-pole adverts and building wraps trumpeting the work of various Gauteng departments. The adverts, in the ANC colours of green and gold with black writing, started appearing across Johannesburg in October."
If, however, it turns out in the end that Thuli Madonsela does conduct a full investigation, and that such an investigation finds that the complaint (originally laid by the Democratic Alliance [DA] in Gauteng in November), is justified, then it will be yet another example, out of far too many, of misuse of your money - and mine.
Of course, as we run up towards election time, we can expect political parties to take shots, cheap and otherwise, at each other - but it should not be with our money. That should go towards uplifting the poor, building and staffing schools, hospitals and the like.
It wasn't that long ago that the ANC itself was very miffed with the DA for putting up a billboard (using its own money) with the message "E-tolls. Proudly brought to you by the ANC." Many people reckoned that is nothing less than the truth, merely pointed out the bleeding bloody obvious, and asked, "So what's the problem?"
Depending on Madonsela's decision on whether a full investigation is warranted, and the outcome of such an investigation, the short answer could be: "Houghton... We DO have a problem."
