The tenth edition of the Global Corruption Barometer – Africa, released on 11 July, African Anti-Corruption Day, by Transparency International in partnership with Afrobarometer, reveals that 64% of South Africans surveyed think that corruption increased in the previous 12 months.
More than half (55%) of African citizens think corruption increased in their country in the previous 12 months, while just 23% think it declined. This is revealed in Transparency Interntional’s Global Corruption Barometer – Africa, released today. Despite this, 53% of respondents believe they can make a difference.
Ministers, deputy ministers, premiers, and members of executive councils are now allowed to spend twice as much on security measures at their official residences, while in some instances, the staff complements in their offices will also double. This, and more, is outlined in the new Guide for Members of the Executive, finally published at the end of June 2019.
The international community can, and should be doing more to combat trade-based money laundering, writes Jason Kohn for the Global AntiCorruption Blog. With the significant increase in global trade in recent years, there has been a corresponding increased risk of using the legitimate movement of goods across borders to conceal the illegitimate movement of money.
Private companies have played an equally destructive role in the plunder of South Africa, writes Cynthia Schoeman, whether in being a party to the corruption or, in the case of many professional services, in facilitating the corruption. If the corporate sector makes more of an commitment to NOT be the other party in a corrupt relationship, it can help to reduce corruption.
Although irregular expenditure decreased from R29.7-billion last year, non-compliance with key governance laws is still a challenge. This year’s municipal audit outcomes, released by the Auditor-General on Wednesday, has seen the highest level of non-compliance with key governance laws since the 2011/2012 financial year.
Organised crime flourished under former president Jacob Zuma’s presidency as criminal justice agencies were diverted from their primary role and manipulated for political and personal gain. The crippling of these institutions resulted in a surge in car hijackings, cash-in-transit heists and aggravated robbery and while Zuma did not wilfully intend to push up the crime rate, says CW executive director David Lewis in this interview with BizNews, that is exactly what happened.
In terms of the fight against corruption, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s June 2019 State of the Nation address did not offer much in the line of results achieved. Ramaphosa did announce that law enforcement agencies would be strengthened, and noted that the SIU special tribunal, which focuses on recovering state funds lost to corruption, will start its work within months.
In part two of our mini-series on corruption and heroin use in South Africa, we examine the effects of the drug trade on users, communities, and the police. There are ways in which to address the situation, but they depend on a multi-faceted approach, not the least of which is political will to effectively address all aspects of the heroin economy – including the corruption that enables it.