International Civil organisation- the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (Tracit) says South Africa’s economy is bleeding billions of rands every year due to out of control illicit activities.
A report, released by the organisation- shows illicit activities in several aspects of the country’s economy including alcohol, medicines, fishing and tobacco trades.
This is in line with The World Economic Forum’s assertions that illicit trade poses a top 5 risk to the South African economy.
Senior Policy Advisor for Tracit, Dr Esteban Giudici says, “The South African economy is bleeding in part because of this. Illicit trading creates a parallel market, that has enormous and really diverse implications – negative implications.”
“This we have showcased in a study that we conducted, where we show how illicit trade undermines all the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. Notably, those ones are a derelict in justice, because it’s a problem that is not only about the financial loss – which is very important, but it’s also about the undermining of the core institutions to help rule of law in a country,” adds Giudici.
The video below is the full interview:
