Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Ronald Lamola says the National Prosecuting Authority Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has recovered billions of rands stolen from the state through corrupt activities.

The minister earlier today spoke during the opening of the Association of African Anti-Corruption Authorities’ sixth general assembly in Gauteng.

“The finalisation of two high value corruption cases has contributed to the AFU recovering R2.83b in corruption and related matters during the financial year, and a total of R10.2b has been frozen over the past four years. In state capture cases alone, the NPA has recovered R2.55b.

“Over the past four years, we have seen 13 new investigations, totalling 97 matters. The previous year, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit secured freezing orders worth R570m to recover the stolen monies from the corrupt and those who facilitated state capture.

“The Special Investigating Unit and the Special Commercial Crimes Unit’s collaboration is essential in fighting money laundering and illicit financial flows. This led to the finalisation of 364 cases in the last financial year and a conviction rate of 87.6%,” he says.

The minister said the department is hard at work implementing plans to strengthen the fight against corruption in the public sector.

“Firstly we are looking at various measures to enhance the efficacy of our whistleblowing framework and ensure that whistleblowers are adequately protected.

“Secondly, we have set up a National Council Anti-Corruption Advisory Council…to advise the government on the critical preventative measures, institutional capabilities and resources that are required to curb a recurrence of state capture proactively and to prevent fraud and corruption in South Africa.

“Thirdly, we are currently busy with inter-departmental consultations to strengthen our Investigative Directorate within the National Prosecuting Authority to enable it to have dedicated capacity to resolve cases identified by the judicial commission,” he said.

Lamola added that in the context of The Corruption Perceptions Index – which ranks countries based on public sector corruption – countries on the continent are facing challenges in the battle against the scourge.

“The report highlights that the battle against corruption faces significant obstacles due to conflicts and political instability. It reinforces the idea that democracy and its associated values play a crucial role in establishing transparency and accountability within institutions.

“Put another way; corruption flourishes in places where democracy is weakened. Implementation is key. Without it, policies remain non-existent, and the fight against corruption lacks substance,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za