The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chairperson, Thandi Modise has told parliaments of the G20 countries that the private sector in South Africa is not always innocent when it comes to corruption.
Modise was addressing delegates at a Speakers’ Summit of G20 Parliaments in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The summit comes ahead of the G20 heads of state meeting later this year.
Modise says corruption makes it difficult for countries to take collective decisions to advance for common good.
She says, “Former President Thabo Mbeki noted in 2015 that up to 50-billion US dollars is lost through illicit flows of funds annually. Corruption impedes economic growth by discouraging foreign investments.”
“It creates a distortion in the resource allocations and the competitive market. It increases the cost of doing business and reduces the net value of public spending. Our experience as South Africa is that the private sector is not always innocent. Price fixing, collusion, bribes, all these affects the overall performance of any economy,” Modise adds.
