CORRUPTION IN SA MAY IMPACT IN INVESTMENT

You think! Logic must tell you that corruption and bribery will have a negative impact on Investment. Think about - would you want to invest your hard earned moola in something that may just dissapear before your very eyes, much like an evening with David Copperfield. I think not!

Corruption and bribery needs to be dealt with immediately and to the fullest extent of the law, and this would also pertain to the privaledged few, like Jackie Selebi and Tony Yengeni, who both walked away without even a slap on the wrist!

Corruption in SA may impact on investment
December 08 2006 at 06:31AM
By Wendy Jasson Da Costa

A damning report of corruption and bribery in South Africa released by Transparency International (TI) on Thursday could have a negative impact on potential investment and even the 2010 World Cup. This is according to Ayesha Kajee, who serves on the organisation's board in South Africa. The Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer is the only worldwide public opinion survey on perceptions and experience of corruption. This year, about 59 000 people in 62 countries were polled, of which 1 000 were South Africans.

'Vulnerable to corrupt practices'Kajee said many South Africans believed that key sectors in government and business were "vulnerable to corrupt practices" and that some even indulged in corruption. "(Government) should be working faster when allegations of corruption surface against important offices and institutions," said Kajee.

She said this was important because perceptions of corruption broke down morale, as was the case in the police because of the allegations against Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Kajee said by looking at the report, overseas businesses would probably do "candid" risk analyses before deciding about a country. Also, crime and corruption could negatively affect the number of visitors during the World Cup. Political parties and the police topped the list, being perceived as equally corrupt by South Africans. Parliament and the judiciary also fared poorly. On the effectiveness of the government in combating corruption, 34 percent of South African respondents believed the government was ineffective, 25 percent said it was effective, 13 percent very effective, 13 percent said government did not fight it at all, 12 percent believed government encouraged it and three percent did not know.