Like many other countries in Africa, South Africa is prey to organised crime syndicates who use it as a lucrative conduit for human, drug, arms, and wildlife trafficking. The country has some strong legislation in place but weak implementation, corruption, and a certain lack of political will puts it and its citizens at risk.
The cost that whistle-blowers pay for coming forward, said justice minister Ronald Lamola, is “counter-intuitive to the laudable goals of whistle-blowing … to mainstream integrity and expose unethical organisational cultures through detection and protection”. Speaking at a conference yesterday on reforming the criminal justice system, Lamola added that those who victimise whistle-blowers are not – but should be – held accountable for their actions.
Has South Africa done enough to escape an appearance on the Financial Action Task Force grey list, asks James George, compliance manager at Compli-Serve SA. We will know later this month, when the FATF meets in Paris. “On the one hand, we’re amending legislation, while on the other, we have widespread corruption running wild.”
The Ibrahim Index of African Governance, released on 25 January, shows a continent that has made some gains, but is in danger of losing those gains as instability increases and democracy declines.
A statutory criminal offence for the “abuse of public power” – as recommended in the second Zondo Commission report – would be a potential game changer in South Africa’s legal framework and its anti-corruption efforts, writes Natalie Keetsi for the Global Anticorruption Blog. But it is important to get it right, by careful modification of the concept, and research into similar initiatives in other jurisdictions.
Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, released today, sees South Africa drop a point in the rankings and end up where it started 11 years ago. While this is disappointing, it must be noted that the index measures perceptions of corruption and therefore may not reflect the reality in every country.
In an ironic twist, the Auditor-General of South Africa has given National Treasury’s 2021/22 annual report a qualified audit opinion. This is because the financial entity failed to disclose fruitless and wasteful expenditure of some R68-million.
Over 330 civil society organisations and activists have demanded that the Eswatini government investigate the murder of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, who was gunned down at point blank range in front of his wife and children, at his home in Mbabane, on the evening of 21 January, 2023.
In part two of our new two-part mini-series on gold laundering, we look back into South Africa’s often shameful gold mining history and the role which gold laundering played in financing the apartheid government’s attempts to cling to power. Part one set the scene as it is today, and looked at possible measures to address the growing problem.
Visit our GivenGain R20 for Change page and help us demand transparency in our systems, accountability in our leaders, and better empowerment and protection of whistle-blowers. By donating R20 a month, you’ll be supporting our work with communities across the country, helping them to know and access their rights and reduce the corruption that robs people of resources intended for their benefit.