Curbing bribery in SA

New law now puts a duty on businesses to act

- REHANA CASSIM

BRIBERY IS one of the most common forms of corruption in South African companies and state institutions.

This has a number of harmful outcomes:

• Firstly, research shows that it weakens democracy and slows down economic growth.

• Secondly, it also creates expensive barriers for honest businesses to succeed, because it distorts fair competition.

• Finally, if bribery is not stopped or punished, it has a demoralising effect—because it erodes trust, and creates a culture where ethical conduct is undermined.

In 2024, a new law came into force in South Africa that puts a duty on companies to take proactive steps to prevent bribery. This law falls under a broader law dealing with corruption in South Africa.

The new provisions make it a crime for companies to fail to prevent bribery by an ‘associated person’. This is a major policy shift in South African anti-corruption law, and aligns with the United Kingdom’s anti-bribery legislation.

An ‘associated person’ is anyone who performs services for the company. This can include suppliers, joint venture partners, distributors, consultants, and other professionals advising the company. It can even be other companies, like subsidiaries.

In my research, I found that South Africa took inspiration from the United Kingdom (UK) Bribery Act 2010. This law makes it a criminal offence for commercial organisations to fail to prevent bribery by associated persons.

However, despite some successes, enforcement of the UK Bribery Act has been slow—and the volume of prosecutions has been low.

Based on my research into company conduct, given the current challenges in law enforcement and the low conviction rates for crimes of corruption, the new law might not work as well as hoped—but with improved enforcement, it has potential to reduce bribery in South Africa.

What's behind the new law?