Ntshaveni: Corruption report not accurate reflection of SA situation
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index is not an accurate reflection of the situation in South Africa.
Transparency International released its annual index on Tuesday, measuring perceptions of public sector corruption in 180 countries.
South Africa's score dropped to its lowest in 12 years and now sits well below the global average.
The country’s 2023 score was worse than the previous low of 42 in 2013 and two points below its maiden score of 43 in 2012.
Ntshavheni said the country has been very open about its battle against graft.
"The fact that you can say this issue is a corrupt practice, or there are allegations of corruption it gets investigated, it means there is work being done to address it, whether the investigations take a long or short period of time.
"Let’s look at the state capture investigations; they took forever, but we are addressing them".
The minister spoke to the media at the start of a two-day Cabinet Lekgotla on Thursday morning.
Ntshavheni also urged South Africans to be patient as the country waits for President Cyril Ramaphosa to proclaim an election date.
South Africans will head to the polls this year for national and provincial elections that are generally seen as the most important since 1994.
She said the president will announce an election date in due course.
"The laws of the country are very clear that it is between the president and the IEC. It is not for the cabinet lekgotla to deliberate on that.
"We are not here to usurp the powers of the president. The president remains with his powers, it’s his determination, and we leave those that are his determination to him.”
The Independent Electoral Commission announced on Wednesday that the voters’ roll has surpassed the 27 million mark for the first time since the dawn of democracy.
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