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S. Africa vows zero tolerance towards corruption

Xinhua, September 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

A culture of zero tolerance towards corruption needs to be developed across society, with businesses and citizens also playing their part, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said on Sunday.

Despite the slight improvement in South Africa's corruption perception in 2014, the perception of corruption in South Africa and its consequent poor performance when compared to other countries "are not what they should be", Radebe said on the occasion of the release of Development Indicators 2014 in Pretoria.

Corruption in both the public and private sectors impedes service delivery, undermines public confidence in the state and the economy, and reduces economic growth, competitiveness and investment, he noted.

A range of institutions and measures have been put in place since 1994 to counter corruption. These are being strengthened by mechanisms such as preventing public servants from doing business with the state and better management of the risks related to government procurement processes, the minister said.

To fight corruption, he urged government departments to utilise the taxpayers'resources, appropriated through Parliament, judiciously and ethically.

Financial audit outcomes across national and provincial departments, municipalities and public entities have improved but are still not ideal, said Radebe.

The target set by the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for municipalities is that at least 75 percent of municipalities should have unqualified audit opinions by 2019.

Intense support is being provided to municipalities to develop and implement audit action plans through a dedicated initiative by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affaris, Radebe said.

To date 167 municipalities have plans of action to prepare and submit Annual Financial Statements, according to the minister.

Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index rated South Africa 44 out of 100. In the previous year, South Africa scored 42. Endit