The Government has not been tough enough on attacks
on state institutions or bribery and corruption.
This is the view of both Azar Jammine, the chief
economist at Econometrix, and Mike Schussler, the chief
economist at Economist.co.za.
Jammine did not believe the government had responded
adequately to address the problem, which was a concern.
He said there were elements within the government itself
that were trying to interfere with institutions to
achieve their own goals.
The perceived lack of will on the part of sections of
the government to crack down on bribery and corruption
could make the perpetrators and potential perpetrators
of these attacks even bolder, he said.
"It can degenerate into a vicious circle of interference
in these institutions to overcome legitimate obstacles
to doing business properly," he said.
Two new initiatives were announced this week to deal
with the scourge of corruption.
Public Service and Administration Minister Richard
Baloyi announced a new investigative unit would be
launched next month to speed up disciplinary hearings
and finalise cases brought against government officials.
The announcement followed the tabling in Parliament of
the Public Service Commission annual report, which
revealed that 7 529 cases had been reported on the
government's anti-corruption hotline since its launch in
2004/05, but 6 096 of these cases were unresolved.
It said 251 officials had been found guilty of
misconduct. The number of cases reported on the hotline
increased sharply from 600 in the first year to 1 430
last year.
Cosatu's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi announced
last week that the trade federation would set up an
anti-corruption unit, which would include a team of
lawyers, accountants and auditors to conduct preliminary
investigations and process these with the relevant
authorities.
There are several government bodies that are empowered
to investigate complaints of corruption, including the
Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks and SA Police
Services.
But Jammine questioned the rationale for creating a new
anti-corruption unit when the Scorpions had been
disbanded and whether the new bodies could prove more
effective than the normal channels.
Schussler said anti-corruption initiatives should come
from "the top of government" rather than from Cosatu or
any other entity. He said stronger sentences for
offenders were needed, such as 40-year sentences for
people who committed this type of fraud.
He said the hijacking of buildings was an old problem
and had taken a long time to sort out, if it had been
sorted out. But criminals were now not only stealing
buildings from private owners, but also stealing
properties from the state, and an example needed to be
made of these culprits, he said.
With acknowledgements to Roy Cokayne and Business
Report.