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Corruption in SA could be 'almost out of control'

Cape Town - General corruption levels in SA could very well be "almost out of control and almost anything can be acquired at a price", according to Steven Powell, co-head of forensics at legal firm ENSafrica.

He expressed concern about corruption becoming entrenched in municipalities and in the government.

"We have to put a stop to this rot," said Powell. He added that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found lawyers are often instrumental in the corruption process because of the contracts they draw up.

Although the OECD has commended SA for its anti-bribery and corruption laws, the country received a bad report card in the review. That made Powell speculate that SA authorities could be looking for an "easy target" to make into an example.

READ: R700bn lost to corruption in 20 years

Bribery and corruption survey

Only about 10% of corporates in South Africa are probably anti-corruption compliant, according to Powell.

"You have to learn to say no. Once you (have) paid a bribe... you are locked in. That is why it is so important to have a policy to prohibit bribery," warned Powell.

"Corruption compliance is continually evolving and the challenge is to manage the corruption risks in Africa."

ENSAfrica released its 2015 anti-bribery and corruption survey on Tuesday. About 88 organisations in Africa, including Mauritius, were surveyed.

The survey found that incidents of bribery in Africa have increased, but at the same time so too has awareness about anti-bribery compliance.

About 71% of responding organisations believe they are moderately exposed to bribery and corruption in Africa, while about 17% of respondents feel they are highly exposed to bribery on the continent. This is actually a drop of 33% from the finding in 2013.

READ: Numsa corruption strike in spotlight

Corporate greed

About 68% of respondents said they believe third-party business partners pose the greatest source of bribery risk in Africa. About 62% of respondents indicated that they now conduct due diligence screening on third parties.

"Remember, you are responsible for your business partner. Make sure you do due diligence on business partners and bind them contractually against bribery as you would be presumed to have known about their actions," cautioned Powell.

In his view corporate greed has become a major problem.

He gave an example of a CEO who told employees to "do whatever you have to do" to get results. When an employee was caught soliciting bribes, he accused the CEO of putting him under pressure to perform.

Countries identified by respondents as hot spots for corruption are South Africa, Ghana, Angola, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.

International trends

Powell said governments all over the world are clamping down on corruption. In the US, for example, more than $6bn (about R74.4bn) has been gathered from successful enforcement settlements and penalties over the past five years.

Powell considers the scandal around soccer governing body Fifa a good example of the lengths to which the US government will go to enforce foreign bribery violations.

Even a dollar payment in Africa through a US bank will give the US jurisdiction - maybe even if a US server was used in a transaction.

The UK, Brazil, China and Russia have also implemented rigorous anti-bribery legislation.

ALSO READ: Corruption index rating worrying - report

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