WELLBEING ISS TODAY
South Africa’s renewal begins with the rule of law A competent and trusted executive-level official is needed to drive the country’s criminal justice reform. By Andrew Faull, Senior Researcher, Justice and Violence Prevention, ISS Pretoria. Republished from https://issafrica. org/iss-today/south-africas-renewal-begins-with-the-rule-of-law?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=ISS_ Today&utm_medium=email. Photo: Amelia Broodryk/ISS
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outh Africa’s prosperity depends on the rule of law, trust between police, prosecutors and the public, and a criminal justice system that treats all people fairly. These were some of the key takeaways from a week-long exchange between top German and South African police and prosecutors in Munich in October.
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The South African delegation also included representatives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Civilian Secretariat for Police Service, and the Institute for Security Studies. It’s estimated that between 2014 and 2019, South Africa lost R1.5 trillion to corruption, while the cost of violence in 2021 is likely to be 15% of GDP.
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022
Reforming the criminal justice system to address such harms, inspire trust in the state, and restore economic confidence was a focus of the trip to Germany. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was elected on an anti-corruption ticket in 2018 and has taken steps to deliver on his promises. He’s appointed new heads for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, National Prosecuting
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