Abstract
Many countries experience various degrees of corruption. South Africa is no exception. The undeniable fact is that corruption cannot be reckoned as a mere country- or region- specific problem; it is a far wider phenomenon. However, there has been a growing global movement to condemn corrupt practices, resulting in the removal of certain leaders from office. South Africa has formulated and promulgated legislation that is considered an international example of good practice and has established agencies for the purpose of combating corruption. The Institute for Security Studies (2007:1) proposes that anti-corruption legislation, if enforced, should equip the country’s anti-corruption agencies with a tool that could effectively be utilised as a punitive instrument for offenders and a deterrent for those contemplating corrupt activities.This article examines whether anti-corruption agencies are apolitical and capable of detecting and punishing corruption or whether they are only a response to international demands by international agreements. In this regard the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the SADC Protocol against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption are discussed.The article concludes with recommendations based on an empirical survey of anti- corruption legislation and anti-corruption agencies conducted in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape Provinces.
Highlights
South Africa, like most other countries, faces challenges in preventing and combating corrupt behaviour
Members of the public Eastern Cape 28 are free to complain to anti-corruption agencies without fear Northern Cape 23 of recrimination
A total of 70 per cent of the Eastern Cape respondents and 65 per cent of the Northern Cape respondents did not support the statement that the province enforces anti-corruption legislation
Summary
South Africa, like most other countries, faces challenges in preventing and combating corrupt behaviour. According to Godi (2007:6), the public sector has uneven capacity to enforce and comply with the legislation, the courts are overloaded and struggle to retain experienced prosecutors, and the legislative mandates of some law enforcement and other agencies overlap These laws do not function optimally and are not effectively adhered to: South Africa continues to rank amongst the highest in terms of levels of corruption and perceptions of corruption and there are inefficiencies within and between institutions with anti-corruption mandates, a lack of effective follow-up on complaints of corruption, inefficient application of disciplinary systems, underdeveloped management capacity in some areas and societal attitudes which weaken anti-corruption efforts (Gauteng Provincial Government, 2009:8). Most prevalent cases of Eastern Cape grand corruption are found where public officials in high positions, in the process of making decisions of significant financial value, Northern Cape routinely demand bribes or kickbacks to ensure that tenders or contracts are awarded to specific contractors
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