ABSTRACT
The dawn of democracy in South Africa experienced the adoption and proliferation of vast economic policies and strategies based on a desire to address the ills of the past and those emergent just before the country’s democratization. Similar to the previous regimes, the new democratic government that came to power in 1994 had to contend with a myriad of socioeconomic ills. These ills, such as the HIV-AIDS epidemic, poverty, illiteracy, and corruption, topped the
Introduction 199 Rationale 200 Manifestation of Corruption 202 Degree of Public Corruption in South Africa 204 Character of an Anticorruption Program: A Forensic Criminological Perspective 205 Comprehension of Public Perceptions on Corruption 205 Public Awareness about Corruption 207 Eradication of Corruption Incentives 208 Consistency and Visibility of Sanctions 209 Reforming Government Bureaucracy 210 Political Will 211 Conclusion 213 References 214
government agenda and policy development. Although it is not insinuated that these problems were not taken seriously during the apartheid era, it is submitted that people were now free to raise their voices and demand government’s intervention after the first democratic elections. Corruption, in particular, which forms the crux of this chapter, has been one of the toughest challenges faced by South Africa. Manifestation and prevalence of corruption led to the sending of clear messages everywhere confirming that it erodes the fabric on which South Africa’s economy is built and that it needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This was not a simple call though, particularly because in the beginning of the 1990s a flood of public corruption hit not only South Africa but also the rest of the world, becoming a global phenomenon (Gildenhuys, 2004, p. 5).
