National Treasury is preparing for its upcoming meeting with global corruption watchdog – the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as it looks to keep South Africa off the world’s notorious grey list.
President Cyril Ramaphosa last week signed off on two key pieces of legislation, hastily passed by Parliament last year, in efforts to tighten the country’s laws on money laundering, corruption, and terrorism.
Should South Africa be greylisted, it will impact its ability to attract investment and do business with the rest of the world.
A South African delegation will travel to Morocco next week, to present progress to combat money laundering and to respond to any further concerns from the Financial Action Task Force.
Treasury says it’s been able to address 15 out of 20 legal deficiencies cited by the FATF.
The remaining five will be addressed through non-statutory initiatives.
The General Law Amendment Act amends five different laws and was assented to by President Cyril Ramaphosa shortly before Christmas.
The president also signed into law, the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities Amendment Act.
Treasury says authorities have completed a second round of assessments of money laundering and terrorism financing risks, and have developed a national strategy to address these.
A final recommendation on whether government has done enough to stay off the global grey list, will be made at the FATF’s plenary towards the end of February.
-EWN
In other news – Photos: Inside Anele Mdoda’s house
South African star, Anele Mdoda is without a shadow of doubt one of the most renowned and successful television and radio personalities in the country.
Born in 1984 in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, Anele Mdoda initially set out to become a lawyer and even enrolled for a law degree at the Wits University. She, however, did not complete her law degree and instead moved to the University of Pretoria where she studied Politics and International Relations and later also kick-started her career in radio. Learn More