South Africa Needs an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission

Dear Editor

With South Africa scoring the worst it has ever ranked in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2023, it is now more pertinent than ever that an independent anti-corruption body be established to fight corruption and cadre deployment.

The DA has asked the Parliament Legal Services to prioritise the finalisation of the DA’s private members bill which will create the Anti-Corruption Commission which will investigate and prosecute high-level corruption. This corruption-fighting body will be a constitutionally protected institution with its own budget and procedures, free from the influence of corrupt officials and Ministers.

In the Corruption Perception Index that was released yesterday, South Africa scored 41 out of a possible 100, with 0 being the most corrupt, and 100 being least corrupt. Out of the 180 countries in the index, Denmark ranks at the top scoring 90, with Somalia at the bottom scoring 11.

In terms of corruption levels, South Africa falls within the groups of Kosovo, Vietnam, Colombia and Cuba.

This level of increased corruption within South Africa can be attributed directly to the ANC’s systemic infiltration of the public sector and cadre deployment. In fact, it was Cyril Ramaphosa himself who chaired the cadre deployment committee for years in the lead-up to his presidency. It is directly his and the cadre deployment committee’s actions that have allowed corruption and State Capture to flourish.

Not a single politically connected person has yet been imprisoned as a result of State Capture. It is clear that the ANC, like every other criminal scandal that has hit them, will intentionally sweep it under the rug and continue to allow the pillaging of state resources until South Africa is decimated.

It is clear the ANC does not care about the people of this country, only their own wallets and that of their connected cadres. The DA has already identified a list of individuals implicated in State Capture within the ANC from the Zondo Reports. As the ANC does everything in its power to shield their political friends from the law, the DA will ensure that once the Bill passes, these connected cadres will be first on the list to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Regards

Adv Glynnis Breytenbach MP
DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development