Crime casts pall over business

Johannesburg - Burglaries at business premises increased by 11.1% in 2008/'09 - the highest increase in six years, according to figures presented to parliament's portfolio committee on police on Tuesday.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa attempted to pre-empt concerns about the statistics, saying the data offered a "mixed bag".

Reported cases of commercial crime, including corruption, banking scams, counterfeit goods and fraud, was 18.7% higher than the previous year - the highest increase since 2002.

Public violence cases increased by 67.6% from the previous year, which was also the highest percentage change year-on-year for the six-year period.

Last week Graham Wright, newly appointed CEO of Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa), said: "Due to the pervasive nature of crime, these levels affect not only the business community, but citizens, investors and travellers to the country."

In a media release, Bacsa said: "This year, crime and theft have been identified as the most problematic factors."

On Tuesday, the police ministry's Zweli Mnisi told the media: "We made some headway and identified some areas where we still need to."

Blue and white collar crime are sore points for big business in South Africa, according to Transparency International and the World Economic Forum.

Transparency International, a coalition tackling global corruption, said in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) that South Africa ranked 54th out of 184 countries reviewed.

In its global competitiveness report for 2008-2009, the World Economic Forum said South Africa was the worst place to do business out of 133 countries - a direct result of crime.

- Fin24.com