Veteran anti-apartheid activist Firoz Cachalia to chair South African Anti-Corruption Advisory Council

Veteran anti-apartheid activist Prof Firoz Cachalia will chair a new National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council appointed on Monday by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The Council has been established to deepen the country’s efforts to rid society and the administration of corruption, improve investor confidence and secure higher levels of public trust.

“The new body will advise the government on the critical preventative measures, institutional capabilities and resources that are required to proactively curb a recurrence of state capture and to prevent fraud and corruption in South Africa,” the President's Office said in a statement.

The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) will advise the president on matters related to fighting corruption, in line with the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2030.

The NACAC appointment of nine members brings together representatives from civil society, including business, who will work alongside the government to prevent and stamp out wrongdoing.

Among other areas of focus, the Council will advise the president on effective implementation of the anti-corruption strategy by the government and civil society, including the private sector.

“The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council is the embodiment of our united resolve as a nation to rid all components of our society of all forms of crime and corruption and develop a whole-of-society response to and prevention of this scourge,” Ramaphosa said.

“We have, over a number of years, witnessed the varied impacts of corruption on our public and private sectors. This damage exposed systemic failures as well as shortcomings in personal ethics and commitment to the country.

“The Council will enjoy the support of the vast majority of South Africans, who are honest and law-abiding and want our country to succeed. The Council will be a source of concern only to those whose days for undermining our development and prosperity are numbered,” he said.

The Council will also provide advisory input on matters related to government’s comprehensive response to the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, which unearthed massive corruption, including billions looted from parastatals by the Gupta family.

The three Gupta brothers -- Ajay, Atul and Rajesh -- are now in self-exile in Dubai as South Africa awaits the finalisation of an extradition request.

An interdepartmental team led by the Presidency is currently developing the government’s response to the recommendations of the Commission, which includes charging the Guptas and others criminally for their role in the looting.

“The Commission has made wide-ranging recommendations on dealing with cases of fraud and corruption as presented in testimony to the Commission, and measures to be taken to prevent, detect and prosecute corruption across all sectors of society into the future,” the Presidency said.

The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council is expected to augment the work done by law enforcement agencies, who play an independent role in terms of combating corruption and other criminal activities.

The Council will also engage with sectoral stakeholders, such as organised business and labour, academia, community and faith-based organisations to further develop the country’s anti-corruption agenda and evaluate progress in the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy.