Right2Know Western Cape salutes Women Whistleblowers…WOMANDLA!!!

For Women’s Month (August) R2K Western Cape is profiling women whistleblowers to celebrate their courage and commitment to transparency. Some of these brave women are also featured in the 2014 R2K Whistleblower Calendar.

Whistleblowing involves reporting unlawful, illegal or dangerous actions that endanger the lives, health or safety of people or the environment. Whistleblowers report this criminal or illegal behaviour at great risk to themselves.

This week we are celebrating Roegchanda Pascoe. She is an elected member of R2K’s National Working Group. Roegchanda has been a lifelong community activist in Manenberg. She is also a whistleblower.

In 2011 she exposed fraud, possible embezzlement and corruption in the National Extended Public Works Programme being rolled out in the very impoverished community of Manenberg on the Cape Flats.

The matter was first raised by the beneficiary community who were very concerned over lack of transparency on how the money was being spent. It has received the attention of the Hawks, the national Parliament and a range of other agencies. Currently, the matter is with the Office of the Public Protector.

Roegchanda says that exposing the information has affected her in a bad way emotionally and financially. She is still in the process of recovering and it is a big struggle daily.

Nevertheless, her advice to would-be whistleblowers is: “If you believe in what you do and are true and honest to yourself and the people you serving, the stones that gets thrown to you will not make an impact.”

On celebrating August as Women’s Month she says, “For me it’s a fixed date set to commemorate those who paved the way, but for me personally every day is Women’s Day. A-luta Continua!”