The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) presented its submission in support of the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Bill to Parliament this past week.
This progressive Bill builds upon the important 2023 legislative amendments dealing with the dangers of the proceeds of crime, corruption, state capture and terrorism being laundered through international financial institutions.
Cosatu appreciates the important strides made by the African National Congress led 6th and 7th administrations to address gaps in our legislative framework and their implementation by government and the financial sector.
Whilst welcoming South Africa’s exit from grey listing in 2025 and the tremendous amount of work that it took to achieve, we cannot afford to become complacent when dealing with often highly sophisticated international and domestic criminal syndicates.
The 2026 Amendment Bill will play an important role in this regard and boost efforts to ensure South Africa remains compliant with the United Nations’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s requirements, more so as we prepare for the next review in October 2027.
Important amendments in the Bill that will boost government’s capacity in the war against state capture and crime, include tightening provisions requiring financial institutions to monitor and report suspicious transactions, enabling the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to undertake lifestyle audits of persons of interest and to share these and other findings with the relevant law enforcement institutions.
Our grey listing in February 2023 was a painful blow. It was a vote of no confidence in South Africa’s governance, law enforcement and financial systems by the international community.
We must commend the sterling work done by government, in particular Treasury, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), FIC the Reserve Bank and the banking sector to address FATF’s findings.
Similarly, Parliament moved with speed to strengthen and pass the General Laws Amendment Act amongst other legislation. South Africa did well to exit the grey listing within two and a half years.
It is a sign that we are slowly turning the corner in rebuilding the state and cleansing it of the cancer of corruption and criminality. This achievement is of great importance to workers and the working class for several reasons.
Firstly, the FATF findings require South Africa to strengthen its institutional and legal systems and ramp up the fight against corruption.
It is workers and the poor who pay the price when their hard-earned taxes that are needed to fund the public and municipal services that the working class and the economy depend upon, are lost to corruption. It is workers who lose wages, pensions and jobs to the pandemic of corruption.
Government ramping up the fight against corruption is key to ensuring that scarce public resources are used as intended to uplift the poor and build a better life for all, and to remaining off the grey list.
FATF requires the Reserve Bank, FIC, SARS and the banking and financial sector to boost their capacity to monitor money laundering. This is key to tackling very sophisticated crime syndicates, particularly those involved in corruption, terrorism financing, drugs and weapons trafficking. Banks are now required to ask account holders to explain unusual financial transactions.
Cosatu was particularly concerned when we were grey listed as this was a massive blow against our collective efforts to attract the domestic and international investment necessary to take our struggling economy from the 1% annual growth rate it has been stuck at to the 3% level needed to create jobs and reduce our dangerously high unemployment rate of 43.8%.
Many investors, and especially pension funds, will not invest in countries that are grey listed. Our removal from the grey list sends a positive signal to these investors that South Africa is a place to invest in.
In an increasingly globalised economy, we cannot afford any unnecessary obstacles to attracting investment. Investment is a necessity if we are to create growth and decent jobs and give hope to society.
Whilst this progress is without a doubt welcome, we must be careful not to rest on our laurels, become complacent and repeat the mistakes of the recent past.
In October 2027, South Africa will be expected to report to FATF on further progress on these findings, in particular holding those who steal from the state and the poor fully accountable.
This means that the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement due to be tabled at Parliament in October and the 2027/28 Budget must ensure that the FIC, SARS, the South African Police Service (SAPS), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the judiciary and other relevant law enforcement organs have the finances, skilled personnel, infrastructure and related resources necessary to ramp up the war against crime and corruption, and most critically to score decisive victories.
Austerity budget cuts, reducing headcounts or imposing below inflation increases upon key frontline public services is dangerous and enables criminals to evade justice. It depresses a society in desperate need to see criminals sent to prison.
Particular attention must be given to capacitating the SAPS, NPA and the judiciary. SARS has shown that public services can be rebuilt and deliver upon their mandates.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition needs to ensure the full implementation of and compliance with the provisions of the Companies Amendment Act requiring the complete disclosure of ownership of companies, including those established through trusts.
The era of state capture has shown the importance of building institutional capacity and to continuously reinforce them to withstand internal sabotage and corruption.
We cannot depend upon feelings, favours or assumptions. We are still recovering from a variety of socio-economic setbacks in addition to dealing with corruption and state capture.
Parliament must expedite the passage of this important Bill.
We are seeing one by one, important victories as we collectively work to cleanse the state and renew the nation. The rebuilding of SARS, Eskom, Transnet, South African Airways and others are a sign that whilst we have far to go, we are turning the corner. Cosatu will continue to support these efforts.
* Zingiswa Losi is the president of Cosatu.
**The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.