Corruption occurs most
frequently with the South
African Police Service
(SAPS), traffic departments
and licensing centres,
according the 2017 Analysis
of Corruption Trends (ACT)
report released recently by
anti-corruption watchdog,
Corruption Watch.
This has prompted
Corruption Watch and the
Institute for Security Studies
(ISS) to launch a campaign
focusing on the crisis of
leadership”
within the
criminal
justice
system, said
Corruption
Watch
executive
director,
David Lewis.
He said
the two
organisations
were
currently
running a survey to determine
what skills and attributes were
needed from leaders of the
criminal justice system.
Lewis pointed out that
bribery remained the most
prevalent form of abuse of
power but that embezzlement
of funds, irregularities
in procurement and
irregularities in employment
had also been highlighted as
the most common types of
corruption
Corruption Watch
chairperson, Mavuso
Msimang, said that one of
the key drivers of corruption
within the public sector was
incompetence by people
who occupied key positions
but did not have a full
understanding of their jobs.
“Countless studies from
across the world show how
corruption has the potential
to restrict trade, interrupt
investment, reduce economic
growth and distort the facts
and figures associated with
government expenditure,” he
commented.
Msimang
added that
where there
was rampant
public sector
corruption
investors
could not be
sure that their
contracts
would be
honoured.
He pointed
to South
Africa losing its top
African investment
destination status to
Egypt – highlighted in last
week’s Rand Merchant
Bank report, ‘Where to
invest in Africa’ – as being
“testament to the negative
impact institutionalised
corruption can have on a
country”.
Individuals involved
in state capture should
be put in prison, asserted
Msimang, to serve as a
strong deterrent for future
corruption and to ensure
they don’t pay their fines
with money they have stolen.
Resistance to
corruption grows
According to
Corruption Watch,
there has been a 9.5%
increase in corruption
complaints for the
first six months of
2017, over the same
period last year, with
37.3% of the total
2 744 complaints
originating in Gauteng.
Corruption Watch
executive director
David Lewis said that
while it was clear that
corruption remained
“alarmingly high”,
the determination
of people to expose
corruption highlighted
the important role
played by whistleblowers
in holding
corrupt companies
and individuals to
account.
INSERT & CAPTION
Countless studies
from across the world
show how corruption
has the potential to
restrict trade.
– Mavuso Msimang
