Stellenbosch University joins anti-corruption drive, Koogan Pillay eyes GNU boost
Stellenbosch University (SU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of South Africa – the country's anti-corruption unit – to find new approaches and strategies in the fight against corruption. South Africa ranks 83 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and has dropped two places since 2022. According to their survey 63% of people thought corruption increased in South Africa the previous 12 months, and 18% of public service users paid a bribe in 2023. Koogan Pillay, a board member at the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research at Stellenbosch university said in an interview with Biznews that the agreement with the SIU will focus on training, research, community engagement, capacity building and exchange of information and expertise. Pillay, who has advised former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the Presidency, and civil society on corruption, attributed the rise in corruption to the ANC government's failure to implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. He expressed hope that a new Government of National Unity will make "a big difference" in the fight against corruption. Pillay is also working with former Justice Richard Goldstone and Lord Peter Hain on the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Court.- Linda van Tilburg
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Highlights from the interview
In a recent discussion on Biznews, Linda van Tilburg highlighted Stellenbosch University's new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Africa's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) aimed at bolstering the nation's fight against corruption. Koogan Pillay, a governance expert and member of the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research at Stellenbosch, provided insights into this collaboration. Pillay's extensive experience includes advisory roles under former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and contributions to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Pillay attributed South Africa's corruption challenges to pervasive political apathy and a failure in implementing robust anti-corruption measures despite solid legal frameworks. He underscored the crucial role of civil society in pressuring for accountability, evident in recent electoral shifts away from the ANC. The MOU, initiated by SIU students seeking advanced coursework at Stellenbosch, symbolizes a demand-driven partnership aiming to leverage the university's research prowess and the SIU's investigative capabilities.
The collaboration seeks to enhance the implementation of anti-corruption strategies, particularly crucial amid ongoing investigations into state-owned enterprises and the aftermath of the Zondo Commission. Pillay emphasized the urgent need for effective budget management, whistleblower protection, and potentially establishing an international anti-corruption court to combat grand corruption and facilitate asset recovery.
Stellenbosch University's involvement is seen as pivotal in fostering integrity and rebuilding democratic institutions post-state capture. Pillay expressed optimism that these efforts, combined with a new Government of National Unity, could steer South Africa towards fulfilling the promises made during its democratic transition.
Edited transcript of the interview
Linda van Tilburg (00:05.774)
Stellenbosch University has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Special Investigations Unit of South Africa, which is the country's anti-corruption unit, to find new approaches and strategies in the fight against corruption. We have Koogan Pillay, a board member at the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research at Stellenbosch, a governance expert, with us in the Biznews studio to discuss this. Koogan, welcome to Biznews.
Before we discuss the collaboration between the unit and Stellenbosch University, can we look at your background? You have worked with Thuli Madonsela, the previous Public Protector, on corruption issues.
Koogan Pillay (00:52:00)
I served previously on Advocate Madonsela's advisory board for good governance when she was Public Protector. Subsequently, I also served in the Presidency and in the SIU, helping to finalise the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. That was five years ago. I helped finalise it with a team of experts. It was signed by the President and adopted by the Cabinet. But five years later, we see very little sign of implementation, and that is why I'm still involved in this space.
I'm working with various civil society players, and more recently, I've been appointed to the board of the Stellenbosch School of Leadership Anti-Corruption Unit, which, as you've rightly said, is excellent.
Linda van Tilburg (02:01:00)
Why do you think we haven't made any progress? I've just looked at some statistics from the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks South Africa 83 out of 180 countries, and it actually went down from last year. So why haven't we made any progress in fighting corruption in the country?
Koogan Pillay (02:12:461)
I think the main problem is the lack of political will, which is not just a phenomenon in South Africa or Africa, but globally. Coming into a democratic era in 1994, we had a huge task of rebuilding the country post-colonial and apartheid era, and no sooner had we started the process with Mandela than we had state capture and grand corruption under Jacob Zuma.
A big sign of hope and the new dawn was when President Ramaphosa came in five years ago. But unfortunately, since he's come in, as you rightly said, it appears to have worsened. It's mainly because as much as a few things have been done, we've really failed in implementation. That comes from the political will and the ability to hold each other accountable within one's political party, in this case, the ANC.
We've just come out of an election, as you know. We are currently busy negotiating a new Government of National Unity, and I'm hoping that will make a big difference. But still, it requires active citizens—in other words, civil society and various stakeholders together with citizens nationally—to put pressure on the government to start making an impact on the devastation of corruption and state capture.
Linda van Tilburg (00:03:40)
Well, what can ordinary citizens do? A statistic from the corruption index is that 18% of public service users pay bribes. What can people do to help in the process of fighting corruption in the country?
Koogan Pillay (00:04:30)
I think your question also leads me to the main subject of the MOU with the SIU. I will answer both because your question is what can citizens do? You're quite right. Civil society and citizens are the last resort, but they have the power of the vote, and we've seen it now in the election. It's the first time in the last 30 years that the ANC has lost the majority, from 57% last time to now 40%. So, that's a big dent. But you're quite right. How does it translate into the bread-and-butter issues on the ground?
That's where the MOU comes in. Stellenbosch is well-resourced with internationally acclaimed researchers, and we've now put an MOU together with the SIU. The SIU is one of those institutions that have not been affected by state capture, luckily. So, we are blessed to have had that with the SIU, and they've come out with a report on some of the successes of the COVID corruption investigations. I see this MOU and our collaboration as taking forward that success and building on it, especially going into the new administration. The SIU is now looking at the state-owned enterprises that have been decimated by state capture and other critical areas highlighted by the Zondo Commission and the Zondo report.
So, I think our collaboration will help in terms of fast-tracking efforts and also helping to capacitate the SIU with the critical skills required, and bringing in other international partners to help with the fight against corruption. Corruption has impacted the socio-economic conditions of citizens—our poverty has worsened, inequality has worsened, unemployment has worsened. We have had all these lovely plans from 1994 in the NDP and the constitution, but we really haven't done too well because of corruption and the lack of political will.
Linda van Tilburg (00:06:09)
How did this collaboration with Stellenbosch come about?
Koogan Pillay (00:06:11)
There are students from the SIU that have already been enrolled in courses at the Anti-Corruption Centre as well as the School of Leadership at Stellenbosch University in various programs, undergraduate, master's, and PhD. It came from them. So, it's nice to know it's demand-driven. They made the request to the SIU leadership, and that's where this came from. The leadership of the SIU approached the leadership of Stellenbosch University, the Anti-Corruption Centre, and the School of Leadership towards this MOU.
We see this process, especially this next administration, working closely with the SIU to see how we could help fast-track efforts. We've had state capture, we've had the Zondo report, but there's been very little signs of implementation from the executive. I'm hoping this partnership, together with other partners, international and local, could help us in this fight. Also, with the new election results and a Government of National Unity being formed presently, that might also play a role.
Linda van Tilburg (00:07:27)
So, are you looking for new approaches, or what exactly are you hoping to get out of this collaboration?
Koogan Pillay (00:08:05)
I must mention we have the best strategies and laws in place, but there have been very poor signs of implementation. When I say political will, it's a lack of ability to implement.
We have established it, but it is hardly implemented. The head of the SIU, at our recent engagement, spoke about needing help and support in implementation not just at the South African level, but also at the regional SADC level and within the AU. So, what we hope to do is to bring in some of the best brains locally and internationally, and draw on that expertise to have some implementation.
Koogan Pillay (00:08:37)
One of the problems we've had is the wealthy, especially those implicated in corruption, adopting Stalingrad approaches and abusing the court system, resulting in trials that go on forever with no accountability. Meanwhile, whistleblowers have borne the brunt of it.
So, some of the important interventions we have planned and came out of the conference are: first, prioritising the budget correctly. In some cases, we've seen budgets skewed in favour of the government rather than the people. That's an important area. Another area is more protection and support for whistleblowers, which has been an ongoing subject for a while now. Colleagues at a recent conference expressed frustration and disappointment at the slow pace of implementation. Again, it's about implementation. That's another critical area. Another possible intervention is something that I'm working on closely with Justice Richard Goldstone, a former Justice of the Constitutional Court who also worked on various international tribunals.
Koogan Pillay (00:09:42)
We're working on establishing an international anti-corruption court. The main reason is to assist in criminal prosecution, mainly of kleptocrats, and to assist in the repatriation of stolen funds sitting in different countries. In this regard, we're also working closely with Lord Peter Hain, who's been a strong advocate for measures against corruption. You might remember him for his role during the anti-apartheid era, and now he's playing a strong role in anti-corruption efforts.
This mechanism of an international anti-corruption court is a campaign of an NGO called Integrity Initiatives International, which is based in the US but is international. Justice Goldstone is leading the treaty drafting for that. I'm co-chair of the Africa subcommittee because we believe Africa is an important area where corruption has played a big role in undermining development.
It's led by a judge from the US, Judge Mark Wolf, with Justice Goldstone being the vice-chair. So that's on the international level.
Linda van Tilburg (00:11:30)
So, where does the University of Stellenbosch fit into this?
Koogan Pillay (14:18.477)
As I've indicated, we seem to have one of the best constitutions, the 1994 constitution established during Mandela's time. More recently, we have other instruments like the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and UNTAC, which has been in place for 20 years. So, it's not about having political will, but rather about how we get good people committed to making a difference on the planet.
We can see the impact of wars in the Middle East, in Russia, and the effects on women and children. This conference we had was on gender and corruption, and if you ask me why, it's mainly because of the impact on women and children, who are the most vulnerable in society. Some of the issues coming out of the conference aim to tackle exactly that. Justice Zondo, in his state capture report, was very clear that the two main factors causing state capture were the lack of accountability and a deep deficit of integrity. Integrity relates to dishonesty and greed, and we've seen these contribute to social ills such as crime, corruption, murder, poverty, and hunger. This explains the worsening corruption stats you mentioned earlier.
Stellenbosch University has been leading in this area. I've been proud to be nominated as a board member, and with the activism and energy of myself and other colleagues, we are committed to ensuring this is not just academic but also has a practical effect. Hence, the MOU between an academic partner and an institution of governance. Fortunately, this institution was not affected during state capture, unlike many other democratic institutions such as the NPA and SARS. I think the learning from this association could help rebuild other institutions of democracy and, together with the new Government of National Unity, hopefully bring us back onto the path we set for ourselves in 1994 under Mandela.
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