In terms of land mass, the Northern Cape is the biggest province in South Africa, with the smallest population.  However, the Province is contaminated with the deadly disease called corruption, practiced by politicians and businesses people who form part of this hellhole of sham. These embarrassments have contributed to the high unemployment rate in the province. Corrupt senior government officials with powerful and influential connections are the ones who manipulate the system to their advantage. The housing sector has also suffered a huge loss due to fraudulent contractors who are on the payroll of these officials. The poor are on the receiving end. Inferior building material is being used to build their houses.

 The former Provincial ANC Chairperson and Finance MEC John Block, the most powerful and influential provincial politician, was accused of using tax payers money in 2003. He was involved in a scandalous act when he attended a jazz festival with his fiancé in Cape Town. He used tax payers’ money and admitted to the deception. Thereafter he resigned as MEC for Transport and Roads, but soon afterwards he operated behind the scenes and later was acquitted after agreeing to pay back the money. For all these years Mr John Block enjoyed powerful political connections and his scandalous activities never stopped. His scandals destroyed his chances to run the province as Chairperson of the ruling party and Premier of the Province.

His Saltpan Mining Company featured in the reports where he was accused of illegally extracting salt from the Kalahari using a fake Mining License.

• He received millions of Rands in kickbacks from the Intaka Water Purification Machines Project for the Northern Cape Department of Health and Municipalities.
• He bought a farm from the Government which was managed by the Department of Agriculture, using tax payers’ money.
• He was charged with leasing government buildings and benefitting from multi-million rands in kickbacks. He also renovated his guesthouse in Upington to the tune of R2.7million from the Trifecta deals. The Trifecta case is still ongoing with the trial  set to sit for sentencing at the Northern Cape High Court in September/October 2016.

In October 2015 John Block and Trifecta  Director, Andre Scholtz, were found guilty on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering. The other accused, MEC of COGHSTA, Alvin Botes who also received kickbacks from Scholtz between 2006 to 2010 in return for influencing provincial departments to rent office spaces at inflated rates in Trifecta’s favour, was acquitted on all charges. The fourth accused, Yolanda Botha,  former Head of Department of the Department of Social Development  died in December 2015 after being diagnosed with skin cancer.

John Block has an outstanding case involving the Intaka Water Purification Machines. These machines were supposed to be installed in hospitals and municipalities to purify water. The contractor failed to install these machines; they turned into white elephants while the Department of Health and the Sol Plaatje Municipality paid millions of rands for the installations and maintenance.

The poor communities continue to suffer tremendously due to corrupt leaders. One of the main accused, former Head of Department of Health Mr. Deon Madyo also died in May 2016.  His Brother Mbuyiselo Madyo maintains that there is a possibility that his brother was poisoned.