Johannesburg – South Africa has its own successes and weaknesses in the fight against corruption, according to former deputy public protector advocate Kevin Malunga.
Speaking at the virtual conference organised jointly by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) in Pretoria on Thursday, Malunga pointed out that the country has elements and good mechanisms to fight corruption, however, there is a lack of action and successful prosecutions.
“In South Africa, we have open government and internal mechanisms to monitor corruption. We have corruption watch organisations, state-owned anti-corruption units, as well as the media to safeguard our country to possible corruption activities,” said Malunga.
“In that regard, there are a lot of opportunities and implementations in place to deal with corruption.”
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He added that the policy framework and implementing and coordinating mechanisms could assist in having a corrupt-free nation.
“I am glad that the NLC joined forces with the EOCD to have this dialogue as the organisation has been taking issues of conflict of interest head on in order for them to have strict measures on fighting corruption, and also to have a clear mandate on their quest to help communities.”
According to Malunga, the challenge facing South Africa is that some of the whistle blowers are also suspect.
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“We have whistle blowers but they are also not clean, and it has been proven through the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture that some [of the whistle blowers] are as dirty as those they testify against,” he said.
He added that corruption is widespread, both in the public and private sectors, noting there are also many challenges in social development, housing and traffic department, among others.
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“We need to look at how corruption cripples the country. I am glad that the NLC brought me in to speak about this and also to educate our people locally and internationally [about the pandemic that we’re facing as a country],” said Malunga.
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