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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing forward with his crackdown on corruption that became endemic during his predecessor’s nearly decade-long rule, according to the continent’s largest bank.
“I am very confident that he is winning the battle,” Lungisa Fuzile, chief executive of the South African unit of Standard Bank Group Ltd., said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“The speed may not be what we want, but these problems are very complex. The fight against corruption is well advanced ”.
Since taking office in 2018, Ramaphosa has made new appointments to crime-fighting institutions that were emptied under former President Jacob Zuma.
He also appointed new executives for state-owned companies that collapsed due to mismanagement and corruption.
A special investigative unit earlier this month arrested Ace Magashule, the secretary general of the ruling African National Congress, making him the highest-profile serving politician to face charges since Ramaphosa came to power.
“The evidence is very abundant,” Fuzile said. the hope now is that “successful prosecutions” will follow arrests made across the country, he said.
In addition to cracking down on corruption, South Africa needs to accelerate reforms among its failing state-owned companies that are key to the functioning of the economy, such as Eskom SOC Holdings Ltd.
The indebted utility company has struggled to keep power supply stable, even as demand was weak during the worst of the country’s shutdown earlier this year.
While a process to improve efficiency by dividing Eskom into three units has begun, it must be accelerated, Fuzile said. “You can never power a modern economy with an energy supply that keeps going off. It’s not good for confidence. “
At the same time, the government should solve problems related to South African Airways, the national carrier, which is small and not critical for growth, he said.
South Africa is running an infrastructure campaign and plans to open several bidding windows, including the latest round of a renewable energy program, to boost an economy the National Treasury expects to contract 7.8% this year.
Efforts from the private sector and the government helped launch a loan guarantee program to help businesses affected by Covid-19 and it should be replicated to launch other bankable projects, he said.
“The ability of the capital markets to respond appropriately when required is beyond reproach,” Fuzile said. “All you need to do is set the right policies and have clear hiring processes.”
Read: Major South African Banks Divide Dividends After Investec Payment
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