South African civil society groups request the Zondo Commission to tackle the country's corruption issues.

The recommendations include strengthing the capacity of criminal justice agencies and improving financial accountability.

Zene Mathe from Open Secrets and Michael Marchant spoke on February 19 on how to tackle the country's corruption issues.

A range of civil society groups have made wide-ranging recommendations to the Zondo Commission into state capture. These organisations have made a joint submission to request that criminal justice agencies be empowered and strengthened in order to hold those who have aided and abetted corruption to account.

The recommendations include:
1. Strengthing and building the capacity of criminal justice agencies.
2. Holding enablers of state capture to account.
3. Improving the financial accountability of political organisations through amended regulations.
4. Addressing the endemic nature of corruption in state owned enterprises (SOE’s), and
5. Addressing the impact of corruption and how it undermines the fundamental rights of vulnerable groups.

Zene Mathe from Open Secrets says that South Africa’s struggle for human rights if those who loot with impunity in the public and private sector remain unaccountable.

Michael Marchant speaking about “The Enablers”, an investigative report released last week, says the report seeks to put on the agenda for the Zondo commission and the public the fact that the banks, law firms, accounting and consultancies sit at the heart of an economy that enables grand corruption.

Among the organisations that are party to the submission are Open Secrets , Equal Education, Black Sash and the Right 2 Know Campaign.