CHAPTER 9
Countering Corruption
Hear from two former Constitutional judges:
Establish an Integrity Commission to end corruption
The corrupt are thieves, they steal from the poor by diverting public funds meant for service delivery, poverty alleviation and the promotion of a better life for all. The looted money is sent overseas and hidden in bank accounts and investments that are difficult to track and trace. The wide-scale looting that has taken place in South Africa is estimated to be as much as R1.5 trillion. A trillion has 12 zeroes to the left of the decimal point. (R1,500 000 000 000)
With our high unemployment rate, there are millions of desperately poor and hungry people in our country – they have each lost a significant portion of this money intended to uplift them and improve their lives.
In order to stop the looting of our coffers, the current culture of corruption with no consequences must end. The best way to stop corruption in South Africa is for the government to create a constitutionally compliant entity that is able to prevent, combat, investigate and prosecute corruption, while raking back the loot already stolen.
Only a specialised and well-trained Chapter 9 Integrity Commission, that is independent, well-resourced and secure in its tenure of office, will have the power to bring the corrupt to justice.
Corruption is one of the great scourges of our age. As this book makes clear, it is estimated that trillions of dollars are paid in bribes every year and that developing regions lose ten times more to corruption than they receive in foreign aid, with illicit outflows of the funds that they desperately need totalling more than 1 trillion US dollars per year. The reason for this is not a lack of laws prohibiting corruption in its various forms (there is no shortage of them) but the impunity enjoyed by those guilty of contravening them, resulting from their control of the institutions which are supposed to see to it that the law is enforced.
Integrity Commission Bill, 2021 – proposed by Accountability Now.
To be read with: Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, 2021 – proposed by Accountability Now
And: Memorandum on a constitutional amendment and enabling legislation for anti-corruption machinery of state in SA.
YOUTH AGAINST CORRUPTION
In Collaboration with ACTIVATE
Share your voice:
With your support, we can fast-track the establishment of a dedicated anti-corruption Integrity Commission. The letter below can be emailed to both the President and the Secretary of the Constitutional Reform Committee of the National Assembly as a way of expressing your support for the establishment of a dedicated, independent and effective anti-corruption Integrity Commission. Fighting corruption demands active citizenship over passive acceptance. Send your email and make your voice heard.
Email Addresses to send the letter to:
presidentRSA@presidency.gov.za & vramaano@parliament.gov.za
Want to do more? Share our campaign on social media and encourage your community to stand with us as we fight corruption in South Africa. Share and follow our #CrushCorruptionSA campaign for further updates.
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