New anti-corruption law passed
Seshoane Masitha
26 February 2004
The National Council of Provinces has passed the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Bill that was approved by the National Assembly last November.
The Bill, which will replace the Corruption Act of 1992, is informed by the government's strategy to combat corruption at all levels of South African society.
According to Deputy Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Cheryl Gillwald, the Bill seeks to codify the offences of corruption and bribery, and extends in its application "from the offices of corrupt public officials to the equally insidious corrupt activities that can and do occur in corporate boardrooms".
The Bill makes provision for witness protection, and compells people in positions of authority - particularly senior managers in government, parastatals and the private sector - to report corrupt activities.
Failure to blow the whistle on corruption will carry a maximum penalty of 10 years'
imprisonment.
The Bill also replaces the common law crime of bribery with a general corruption offence. "This clause prohibits both the receipt and offering of unauthorised gratification by or to a person within an employment relationship, whereas the common law crime of bribery applied only to persons in the public sector", Gillwald said.
The deputy minister said the Bill reflected the political will of the government to change its approach to combating corruption. "If left unchecked, corrupt practices can easily become a bad habit and soon become accepted as the norm", she said.
Gillwald urged the public to cultivate an unequivocal intolerance for corrupt practices and to create a culture of clean corporate and public sector practices.
"Corruption is not limited to any specific sector", she said. "It preys on government and business on a wide front, and finds its home in both the informal and formal sectors."
Source: BuaNews
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