UNITED STATES- The United States has alleged widespread official corruption in South Africa under President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration.
Mr Ramaphosa’s government was implicated in a recently released report by the U.S. government on human rights practices in South Africa.
“The government did not take credible steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses. There were numerous reports of impunity,” said the U.S. government.
It added, “The law provided for criminal penalties for conviction of corruption by officials, but the government generally did not implement the law effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year.”
The report stated “official corruption remains a problem in South Africa,” and at least 10 government agencies, including the SAPS special investigation unit, Public Service Commission, Office of the Public Prosecutor, and Office of the Auditor General, were involved in anti-corruption activities, according to the U.S. State Department sanctioned report.
The office of the public protector, which is mandated to handle such cases, investigated thousands of corruption cases, some of which involved high-level officials in government abuse and mismanagement.
A commission chaired by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended a report on tackling corruption, but the government has yet to implement the recommendation, the report noted. Mr Zondo’s report identified rampant corruption at Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, and South African Airways, among others.
Non-government organisations like Corruption Watch also documented extensive corruption in government procurement and the award of tenders at all levels of government in South Africa.
“Public procurement across levels of governance and state-owned enterprises continued to present opportunities for corruption directly contributing to declining and dysfunctional public services,” the report stated.
Last year, Mr Ramaphosa, the head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), came under fire from the opposition following a parliamentary report that accused him of corruption.
He was nearly impeached after parliamentary reports accused the South African president of serious misconduct by allegedly hiding a large sum of funds in undeclared foreign currency at his farm in 2020.
In addition to Mr Ramaphosa, the nation’s former African health minister, Zweli Mkhize, was also implicated in a corruption case. He resigned after he came under fire for accusations of “unfairly” awarding COVID-19-related contracts to a company controlled by his former associates.
