Latest news with #rebuildtrust
News24
4 days ago
- Politics
- News24
‘Fix corruption by changing people, not the system': Imtiaz Sooliman at National Convention
The National Convention marks the beginning of the National Dialogue, which aims to rebuild trust, address country-wide problems, and shape a shared future. Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said the dialogue is not just for people's voices to be heard but also a mechanism for holding the government accountable. The dialogue has been met with mixed feelings; some are optimistic that it could work, while others believe it to be a waste of resources. While the National Dialogue is about people being heard, raising issues, and finding solutions, it is also another mechanism for holding government accountable. This is according to Gift of the Givers founder and Eminent Persons Group (EPG) member Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. Speaking to News24 on the first day of the National Convention at Unisa in Pretoria on Friday, Sooliman maintained that the dialogue is not a political ploy, but a tool to allow people to have their voices heard. The convention marks the beginning of the National Dialogue, which aims to rebuild trust, address South Africa's challenges, and shape a shared future. 'There is willingness from the country to be heard because we know the normal issues. We know about education, about health, about potholes, but what about the people that we don't know about, the unemployed majority, the physically and mentally challenged, and other categories? This is an opportunity for them to raise their voices,' Sooliman said. READ | What we want you to discuss. With love, ordinary South Africans He added, 'But while saying that, there are multiple levels in which I look at this dialogue. Number one is that people are given an opportunity to speak, but at the same time, they need to take ownership of the country into their own hands. I need everybody to be a patriot.' Sooliman said the other aspect of the dialogue is to hold the government to account. 'Why are the systems not working properly? Why are there surplus budgets in all the different departments? Why are they not used? Why are your civil servants not effective in making decisions? Why do we have so many ministries? We need to cut the ministries. We need to cut civil servants. We need to reposition jobs. 'We need better, highly skilled people who know how to control budgets, how to control logistics, and how to deliver. We need people who are efficient, not your grandfather's sister, your brother, your uncle, your cat or dog.' However, Sooliman stressed that he also had to be fair to the government, noting, among other things, that the taxes are not enough to run the country, no matter who is in power. He further said that the government is not inherently corrupt, nor are the police, but rather, there are corrupt people in the government and the police force, just as in the corporate and religious world. 'We have corruption everywhere, but it doesn't make the system corrupt,' said Sooliman. He spoke about the need to strengthen crime-fighting and allow authorities to freely pursue any minister, politician, or government official who commits a crime. Sooliman said these are the sorts of discussions he hopes to have, which will lead to action. 'If it doesn't [lead to action], I'm wasting my time, to be honest.' SA Council of Churches weighs in Like Sooliman, Thembelani Jentile of the South African Council of Churches spoke about the scourge of corruption and the need to root it out. 'We need to see a country that is corruption-free, a country that creates jobs, and an economy that is doing well, so the dialogue is important because we just have to sit down and talk.' Jentile believes this can only be done through the appointment of ethical leaders. Jentile said: We need leadership in South Africa, not just leadership but ethical leadership. If we have ethical, informed leadership, most of these problems will be sorted, and you know, the sad thing is it's not that we don't have the skills, or that we don't have the leaders. 'But I think we are electing the wrong people, and corruption is right in the DNA of our country. So if we can handle that, I think we'll do well as a country.' Keitumetse Fatimata Moutloatse, the chairperson of the Black Womxn Caucus, which advocates for multi-pronged and cross-sectional solutions to addressing gender-based violence and femicide, is also hopeful that the dialogue will bear fruit. 'We're not starting a dialogue, but what we seek to do is to continue the dialogue. We want to shape the dialogue. We want to influence the dialogue and its outcomes,' she said. 'We are most interested in elevating the voices of communities into decision-making processes so that we get to a stage where we have a collective plan of action as a country.'
Reuters
6 days ago
- Health
- Reuters
US CDC trust shaken after shooting at Atlanta headquarters
NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Grappling with the aftermath of a shooting that killed a police officer and left nearly 100 shattered windows, leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held virtual meetings with employees on Tuesday to rebuild trust at the agency's Atlanta headquarters. CDC employees who can work from home have not returned to the building, which government leaders toured on Monday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday during a press conference that nearly 200 rounds had struck six CDC buildings. A source briefed on the matter had previously told Reuters that 85 windows were broken and over 100 doors destroyed. During an hour-long call with staff of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry described the walk through the campus as devastating. "I saw glass everywhere…I saw glass outside your doors and the bullet holes by some of your doors,' Houry said, according to a copy of the recording reviewed by Reuters. During the call, employees described feelings of anger, desperation and isolation, and noted that they felt the extent of the shooting was not receiving the attention it deserved. Georgia investigators said they had found written documents in the shooter's home in which he expressed discontent with the COVID-19 vaccine. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Since being named U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary earlier this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has targeted vaccine policy, and in May withdrew a federal recommendation for COVID shots for pregnant women and healthy children. Kennedy toured the site on Monday and said no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, defended the CDC as an agency whose goal is to keep the people it serves healthy and safe. 'People, through their words and actions, have created an environment where mistrust and dehumanization of public health and the people that do the lifesaving work have been used as weapons. It's our turn, as public health professionals, to demand that the trust that we have lost be rebuilt," he said during the call. A separate all-staff meeting that had been planned by CDC Director Susan Monarez became a virtual-only, short call on Tuesday without a question and answer session, according to a recording reviewed by Reuters.
