Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - SA's main business advocacy group Business
Unity SA (Busa) has come out in support of lifestyle audits as a measure to
address corruption.
"A lifestyle audit is not against wealth creation but a
question of how the wealth is acquired. We have to take the bull by its horns
if we're serious about dealing with the scourge of poverty," said Futhi
Mtoba, Busa president.
Mtoba was speaking at Busa's anti-corruption forum on
Friday.
Mtoba called for authorities to consider "integrity
pacts", which would oblige those involved in tendering processes to take
oaths of transparency and honesty.
The integrity pacts, which Mtoba said had been "tried
and tested" in over 15 countries, could help reduce corruption and
overpricing, improve the quality of people's lives as well as business
practices.
What was unique about integrity pacts was that they were
independently monitored, Mtoba said, making them more efficient.
Mtoba identified the National Anti-Corruption Forum as one
of the measures adopted by business and government in the fight against
corruption.
For government, corruption undermined the rule of law,
hampered economic growth, and presented service delivery challenges, which
could lead to social unrest.
For business, corruption presented an "unfair advantage" for some companies and hampered sustained development, Mtoba said.
