South Africa is strengthening the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to crack down on corruption and bring perpetrators to justice.
This anti-corruption rallying call was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he delivered the first State of the Nation Address of the seventh administration on Thursday evening.
The fight against corruption intensified last year with the establishment of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption as a permanent entity of the National Prosecuting Authority.
The directorate is focussed on investigating and prosecuting high-level corruption cases in the country.
“We will ensure that the directorate is fully resourced and has access to the information that it needs to prosecute state capture cases and hold those responsible to account.
“We are establishing a world-class digital forensics lab to support the investigation of complex corruption and financial crime with cutting edge tools and expertise.
“We want a nation that is free of corruption,” the President said.
He added that steps are being taken – as informed by the recommendations of the Zondo Commission – to further safeguard the government purse against corruption and to recover money stolen through state capture.
“We are making steady progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the State Capture Commission, including signing into law several legislative reforms.
“The Special Investigating Unit and Asset Forfeiture Unit report that over R10 billion has been recovered in state capture-related cases,” he said.
Government is also at work to strengthen anti-corruption legislation.
“This year, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will report on the review of the anti-corruption architecture by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council...[which] is expected to streamline legislation, eradicate the duplication of mandates and foster greater cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
“We will finalise the whistleblower protection framework and introduce the Whistleblower Protections Bill in Parliament during this financial year,” he said.
When South Africa was placed on the greylist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – an international body working in the combat of terrorism financing and money laundering – the country was directed to address 22 action items, to be removed from that list.
During the SONA, President Ramaphosa assured the nation that the country has addressed the majority of these action items.
“This year, we will strengthen South Africa’s system to combat money laundering and terror financing with further legislative and system improvements.
“To secure our removal from the international Financial Action Task Force grey list, we have made significant progress in addressing the weaknesses identified in our law enforcement system, with 16 out of 22 action items fully addressed,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
