The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has called on government to intensify its fight against corruption and for leaders to be accountable.
According to the Corruption Perception Index, South Africa ranks 72 out of 180 countries for public sector corruption. The ranking categorises South Africa as a 'flawed democracy' alongside 48 other countries in the same situation.
The report stated that the May elections were supposed to be an opportunity for the country to launch anti corruption campaigns.
“When we had the discussions, there's all these promises about corruption but if you go and delve deep into it, it appears that it's just conversations and we need to see action, we need to see accountability,” said OUTA Executive Director Advocate Stefanie Fick in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
Fick said if you looked at the Corruption Perceptions Index, it is about whether a country is transparent, whether there is an independent justice system etc, which Sub-Saharan Africa is struggling with.
“These are the types of things we need to fix, these are the types of things that the government needs to work on, the people on the ground need to see that people are being held accountable for corruption,” she said.
South Africa scored 41 points out of 100 on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Index in the country averaged 46.01 Points from 1996 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 56.80 Points in 1996 and a record low of 41.00 Points in 2011.
Government this year said it has already started taking decisive steps to expose and punish corrupt activities in both the public and private sectors, reform the institutions to make them stronger and more transparent, and restore a professional and effective public service.
“We established the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Investigating Directorate to prosecute state capture and other significant corruption cases. The Investigating Directorate has to date enrolled over 34 corruption cases, charged 202 accused individuals, and 65 accused entities,” said government during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2024.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who for quite some time, had the Phala-Phala scandal hanging over his head, said corruption has no place in South Africa.
“The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, consisting of people from across society, is in place to advise on suitable mechanisms to stem corruption, including an overhaul of the institutional architecture for combating corruption,” said Ramaphosa.
OUTA, in September said the scourge of corruption is an existential threat to South Africa’s democracy and development. The organisation said it hinders growth and prosperity, and while many hoped the removal of Jacob Zuma would stem the tide, corruption has instead evolved into a full-scale national crisis.
“Criminal syndicates now operate with alarming impunity across most sectors of society. The question is: why is this not treated as a national emergency by our political leaders?
“What South Africa needs is not superficial reform, but a radical and proactive strategy to tackle corruption head-on. This strategy must involve the judiciary, law enforcement and a comprehensive government-wide approach with civil society playing a pivotal role,” said the organisation.
OUTA said while the National Anti-Corruption Strategy has been in the works for years, it remains a well-crafted document lacking effective implementation.
“It is a broad document with complexity and lacking ownership at the highest levels, which are major stumbling blocks. We don’t need incremental change; we need a focused, targeted approach to root out major corruption that does the most damage to society and drains limited tax revenues — a focused Radical Anti-Corruption Strategy in a few key areas” said OUTA.
Saturday Star
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