The Inclusive Society Institute (ISI) hosted a High-level Dialogue on the Establishment of a National Anti-Corruption Agency for South Africa on 19 October 2021.
The dialogue was a response to the proposal by President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC). The ISI and the Anti-Corruption Centre for Education and Research (ACCERUS) of Stellenbosch University, through its School of Public Leadership, has entered a partnership to research the realities of international and African Advisory Councils against corruption and to produce a report which will be handed to the public policymakers as a contribution to policy development in this regard.
This dialogue aimed to give direction to the research to be undertaken by the ISI and the School for Public Leadership. The dialogue noted that corruption is antithetical to sustainable development, aggravating income inequality, reducing domestic and foreign investment and significantly lowering the quality of public sector services. Addressing corruption will support a more inclusive recovery from the Covid19 pandemic.
The research is now proceeding towards finalisation. An academic panel discussion was held on Thursday, 17 February 2022 to consider the proposals made in the report, and to robustly engage the proposals made in the preliminary findings. The emphasis of the deliberations was on effective mechanisms to protect whistle-blowers and the final proposed organisational structure of the NACAC).