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The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has demanded that the Democratic Alliance retracts its defaming and fallacious statement accusing the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala of “lying about the over 200 construction mafia related arrests”

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has labelled the DA statement as yet another dose of untruthful and misleading propaganda.  It is yet another act of desperation to defame the government, fuelled by its own delusion and obsession to be purveyors of fake news.

Under normal circumstances we would not respond to any Democratic Alliance drivel as our comments will dignify their garbage.  We are responding because the media and the public at large has now become victims of being infected with falsehoods and propaganda and we respond to protect the vulnerable members of the public.

The Department confirms that its information that there are over 200 arrests made by the police involving work of the construction mafia is correct and authenticated by official documents in its possession. 

While the DA seems to have beef with their access on obtaining information from the police, they have gone out of the way to cast aspersion on the Minister and made defaming inferences on the Minister.

The DA can run its malicious and barbaric propaganda agenda against government but it must not use the media as their cheerleaders and get its misleading narratives published without question or seeking the other side of the story.

We demand that the DA apologises and withdraw its despicable and amateurish statement within seven working days.  We are of the opinion that their statement apart from it being ludicrous, it borders on defamation and it is not about the accountability of government.

The rights of the Minister and the Department are reserved in this regard.

We re-iterate that the law enforcement agencies are hard at work and thwarting the efforts of the construction mafia.  We will reveal further evidence of this in our coming briefings.

Issued by Department of Public Works and Infrastructure