Former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela has said that civil society needs to make the fight against coronavirus (Covid-19) corruption sustainable.

She was speaking at the virtual ‘Stop C19 Corruption’ event organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on Friday which saw a cross-sectoral call for societal mobilisation against Covid-19 corruption.

The rally made the case for greater accountability and transparency around Covid-19 procurement on what would have been struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada’s 91st birthday.

Recently South Africa has been marred by disturbing corruption scandals within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) over funds meant to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those implicated include Presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko’s husband, Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku and his wife, who is a City of Johannesburg MMC, Loyiso Masuku.

The rally followed a recent moral call by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and several foundations against Covid-19 corruption.

Madonsela called for a “united front” so that civil society could consistently assess whether “democracy is doing what it is supposed to be doing”.

She said society needed to stand up and protect democracy against the threat of corruption and added that government needed to work closely with civil society.

“We have to request a civil society meeting with the President. At that meeting, we should demand an end to the barricade where the President and government are on one side and the rest of us are on the other,” she said.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation executive director Neeshan Balton indicated that following the rally, various organisations will be communicating other activities against Covid-19 corruption.

The call for societal mobilisation was echoed by Kathrada Foundation board chairperson Derek Hanekom, and the SACC’s Reverend Frank Chikane.

Hanekom said just like in 1983, when the UDF was formed to confront apartheid, there was a similar need to collectively confront corruption.