Barry Streek
Former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje would face a 10-year jail sentence in terms of a sweeping new anti-corruption law drawn up by the government.
The draft Prevention of Corruption Bill, which should be tabled in Parliament by year-end, defines 17 different types of corrupt practice, including corruption in sport and the possession of unexplained property. It reinstates the common law offence of bribery, repealed in the 1992 Corruption Act.
One of its effects would be to criminalise the match-rigging activities of the former cricket captain.
It will be an offence to accept or give undue “gratification” for the purpose of “influencing, in any way whatsoever, the run of play or the outcome of a sporting event”. Those found guilty will be liable to a fine or a jail sentence of up to 10 years, or both.
A potentially contentious clause in the Bill deals with the “possession of unexplained property” by public officers with a standard of living above their current or past sources of income, or who control funds or property disproportionate to current or past income sources. Unless they can provide “a satisfactory explanation” in court, they will be guilty of an offence.
Based on Hong Kong legislation, this clause also shifts the onus on to the accused, once a reasonable case has been made.
The chairperson of Parliament’s justice committee, Johnny de Lange, says this provision would have to be tested against rulings of the Constitutional Court, which had rejected many similar provisions, and the Constitution.
Commenting on the Bill as a whole, De Lange says prosecutors are “almost powerless” to win convictions under the existing Corruption Act because of loopholes.
The Bill is the first step in a two-stage government processlll that will involve the creation of a national corruption-busting agency.
It provides for a six-lllperson Prevention of lllCorruption Commis-lllsion, headed by alllll retired judge, that will prepare national strategies for the prevention and control of corrupt practices, monitorlll anti-corruptionllllll policies, developllllll information cam-lllpaigns and ad-lll vise governmentl departments and institutions onlll anti-corruptionll strategies. It willl have no directllll investigative powers.
A strategy document calling for a singlellllll national body to probe corruption and the abuse of office is being circulated in government circles. The drafters have been sworn to secrecy, but it is understood there is strong support for the commission and the proposed investigative agency to be merged.
De Lange’s view is that the priority is fixing the existing Corruption Act, so that corrupt officials do not use legal technicalities to escape the law.
He hopes the Bill will be tabled this year and public hearings held in Parliament early next year.
De Lange says the debate between different government departments over the most effective corruption-fighting structures has not begun. The issue needs to be separated from the need to bring legal clarity.
The new Bill was drafted by the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions after the private member’s Corruption Act Amendment Bill, tabled in the National Assembly in 1999 by the Democratic Alliance’s Raenette Taljaard, was referred to it for comment.
The definitions of corruption are extremely wide-ranging, and include the offences of giving and accepting “undue gratification”, including gifts, favours, fees or advantages of any kind.
Also included are offences in respect of tenders, the bribery of public officers, the corruption of witnesses, the bribery of foreign public officials, bribery in relation to auctions, bribery for giving assistance in regard to contracts, and the deliberate frustration of investigation of an offence.
It will be a legal duty for any “public officer” which includes public servants, MPs, members of provincial legislatures, councillors and any judicial or prosecuting official to report any offer of “gratification”. Anyone who fails to do this will be liable to a three-year jail sentence.
The new measure will also apply to acts of corruption committed outside South Africa against a South African citizen or a person domiciled in South Africa.