SA officials hamstrung by graft rules, Momoniat says

South Africa needs to review the way it is tackling corruption to ensure it doesn’t impede officials from delivering services and doing their jobs, according to the acting head of the National Treasury.

The current approach is geared toward implementing overly restrictive rules, rather than agreeing on a set of principles to determine how money is spent, Ismail Momoniat said in a speech on Tuesday. The country should consider making it illegal for public office bearers to be involved in procurement, he said.

Graft became endemic during former Jacob Zuma’s almost nine-year rule, with the government estimating that more than R500 billion was stolen from its coffers. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma in 2018, has said that tackling the scourge is a top priority, including tightening up on procurement processes.