South Africa investigates alleged $7 billion corruption at state-owned companies
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa The country is actively investigating allegations of corruption totaling more than $7 billion in some of its major state-owned enterprises, according to a report released Tuesday by the national anti-corruption unit.
The investigations are not new, some have been ongoing since 2018, and all were cited by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in a report to a parliamentary committee to provide an update on the progress of the investigations.
The investigations involve six state-owned companies: port and rail company Transnet, arms company Denel, power utility Eskom, the National Lotteries Commission, national airline South African Airways and passenger rail company PRASA. According to the report, some 60 suspicious contracts and hundreds of cases of conflict of interest and other alleged corruption involving nearly $4 billion of public money are being investigated within Transnet alone.
In addition, there are nearly 40 other ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption involving various state-owned enterprises and national and provincial ministries, worth billions of dollars. Still other investigations have been finalized by the SIU before being made public.
The work of the UES reveals part of the extent of The problem of corruption in South Africa over the past 15 years.
Allegations of widespread corruption have been made over lucrative government contracts during the administration of former President Jacob Zuma, who led Africa’s most advanced economy for nine years before resigning in 2018 over the allegations.
A judicial investigation High-level corruption allegations at the time involved numerous government officials and executives of state-owned enterprises accepting bribes from businessmen in exchange for government contracts or favors. The culture of corruption, according to the allegations, permeated all levels of government. Almost none of those involved faced criminal charges.
This has had devastating consequences for the South African economy, particularly close to the collapse of its electricity supply Due to corruption and mismanagement at the power utility Eskom, a company at the heart of numerous scandals. Last year, South Africa was plunged into record levels of nationwide power outages due to the Eskom crisis.
More than 270 Eskom contracts worth about $2.2 billion are being examined as part of a six-year SIU investigation.
Investigators estimate that $540 million was lost to corruption at passenger rail operator PRASA, some of it through a scheme to steal money through payments to more than 1,200 “ghost employees” who did not exist, according to the SIU report. One contract under investigation worth more than $300 million dates back to the 2010 soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa.
The African National Congress party, then in power in South Africa, became synonymous with allegations of corruption during Zuma’s presidency. Grafting was a central issue during this year’s national elections in South Africa, when the elections ANC loses majority in parliament for the first time since the country became a democracy after the end of white-minority apartheid in 1994.
Current President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to clean up his party and government and bring those responsible to justice, but anti-corruption experts say it is unlikely much of the money will be recovered.
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