The Hawks say that the spat of high-profile arrests has been a long time coming and that there are plenty more arrests expected in the coming days.
Hot on the heels of more senior government officials, the Hawks are targeting those fingered in corruption scandals.
From the looting of the funds held in VBS Bank to the R250 million project to audit asbestos in houses in the Free State, it seems as though those corrupt top officials are finally facing the music.
Both the VBS and asbestos matters have shed light on the role our top officials have played in the siphoning of state funds. Corruption within the ranks of the top officials, and their collective failure to implement resolutions around this issue, has led to it flourishing.
The moves made by the Hawks represent a rare sign of progress in the fight to curb the corruption that has become all too rife in our country. Whilst an inquiry into corruption was launched in early 2018, many South Africans had become disillusioned with the process as few have been held accountable. This only worsened at the height of the country’s COVID-19 pandemic, when a string of suspicious contracts to supply personal-protection equipment (PPE) came to light.
These high-profile arrests of several key figures may be the clearest signal yet that South Africa’s age of impunity is on its way to being truly over.
Author – Jessica Gooding
