Auditor-General decries slow pace against corruption in South Africa

THE Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke says lack of accountability has normalised corruption as part of life in South Africa, and the country has regressed as a result.

- MANYANE MANYANE

The AG was speaking at a three-day National Combating Corruption Summit hosted by the University of Johannesburg yesterday.

The conference brings together leaders from various sectors to discuss strategies and collaborate on solutions to fight corruption

This comes as South Africa scored 41 out of 100 on Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the same as its 2023 score. This indicates persistent public sector corruption, as a score below 50 is considered serious.

The CPI assesses countries on a scale where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean, with South Africa ranking 82nd out of 180 countries in the 2024 report.

Maluleke said corruption in the country has far-reaching implications, limiting investment appetite and further increasing unemployment. She said the situation limited economic growth, which in turn affects the country's ability to create jobs.