Corruption will remain a problem in South Africa, Special Investigation Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyr said on Thursday.
Giving an overview of the growth of the SIU over the past few years, Hofmeyr said it was difficult to determine just how much corruption there was in government.
”There are some areas which are just naturally vulnerable to corruption such as prisons, drivers’ licences, home affairs. There are always going to be problems and there would be a need for an ongoing capacity to deal with it,” Hofmeyr said.
Citing an example, he said the unit recently encountered a police officer who was offered R1-million to drop a case. ”That is more than many officers would make in a lifetime,” he said.
The SIU recovered R79-million and saved government R852-million in the past year in money that would otherwise have been paid out fraudulently as grants.
Hofmeyr said the unit has saved the government R6,7-billion in future losses over the last five years.
The SIU is currently investigating about 30 state projects. These range from massive national investigations into social grants payouts and corruption in the correctional services medical aid fund to localised investigations in municipalities.
Hofmeyr said the unit continues to grow but it would take some time before it can tackle all corruption in the state.
By the end of the year the unit hopes to have 600 investigators and legal experts working for it with a budget of R145-million this year.
”I think we are halfway there; it would be another five years before we say we can deal with corruption properly,” Hofmeyr said.
He said he believed the unit would continue to grow and receive money because it ”delivers value for the money spent on us”.
”Our goal is that if something is reported that there are enough people to go and deal with it … What we are saying to people [is that] if you are corrupt we are coming to get you,” Hofmeyr said. — Sapa