A Call To Action To The New GNU – Get Us Off The Greylist
Jacques van Wyk
We help companies build ethical, sustainable businesses, building a South Africa that we can all be proud of.
The more things change, the more they stay the same…
That’s likely what the more cynical amongst us are thinking right now. Yes, it’s wonderful that we have a broader, more representative Government of National Unity, but has anything really, meaningfully changed?
If you’re in a charitable frame of mind, your thoughts are probably that it’s a little too early to tell. But regardless of how you feel about our new GNU, there is one thing that hasn’t changed – and won’t for quite a while yet:
South Africa is still on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
It was a dark day in February 2023 when we were first identified as having a concerning number of strategic deficiencies when it comes to combating money laundering and terrorism financing. In the 16 months since, our government has, admittedly, been working on repairing the holes in its systems, but it clearly hasn’t done enough.
At the end of June, after a three-day meeting in Singapore, the FATF acknowledged (and even went so far as to praise) South Africa for the progress it had made but made no bones about the fact that we still have a long way to go.
To be honest, the announcement won’t have come as much of a surprise to most. Even the National Treasury, which has been helping with South Africa’s response to the initial greylisting last year, publicly stated it’ll be mid-2025 before all the problems are likely to be fixed.
According to an article in News24, the FATF says South Africa still needs to:
One silver lining in this otherwise quite bleak picture is that the FATF welcomed South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre’s raising our risk of being used as a hub for terrorist financing from moderate to high. This is due largely to the increased threat from the Islamic State, whose influence in the country has been slowly increasing.
Why is this something to be optimistic about? Because, by sharing this updated risk assessment with banks and other financial institutions, as well as non-profit groups and government departments, it helps heighten awareness and, hopefully, lead to a broader application of stricter actions and controls.
It’s a crucial weapon in our ongoing fight to get off FATF’s greylist. There is growing evidence that South Africa is fast becoming a middleman for the funding of extremist groups in central and north Africa. This is something we need to tackle now, and tackle hard, before it completely derails all other efforts we’re making to be more compliant.
The important thing to realise here is that taking the necessary steps to be taken off the greylist is not simply a bureaucratic box-ticking exercise. The longer we stay on the greylist, the more significant the effect is going to be on our economic and business health.
The fact that we’re on the list in the first place is already a huge fly in the ointment of our international reputation, deterring much-needed foreign investment and making international financial transactions increasingly complex.
This is a significant nail in the coffin for any short- to medium-term economic liveliness and growth.
The onus is not only on our fledgling new government but also on South African businesses to play by the rules and double down on their efforts to show the FATF that we’re serious about bringing our country in line with desired international protocols.
领英推荐
This includes:
There are currently 14 outstanding items left to address (from the original 22). According to a media statement on the Government’s website, these action items have “differing deadlines, falling between January 2024 to January 2025.”
January 2025 is the earliest possible time we can expect South Africa to have addressed all the outstanding items, after which there will be an onsite visit by the FATF Joint Group to confirm (or not) our progress.
If they decide South Africa has addressed, or largely addressed, all 22 of the original action Items, there will then be an onsite visit of the Joint Group (by April or May 2025) to confirm the assessment and make a recommendation to the June 2025 FATF Plenary to remove us from the FATF greylist.
If, however, any of the action items have still not been addressed by January next year, we will stay on the greylist, reporting to the FATF every 4 months, until all deficiencies have been addressed.
On 2 July, the government issued a statement which said, “National Treasury notes that whilst South Africa is on track to address all the outstanding Action Items, it remains a tough challenge to address all 14 of [them] by January 2025. All relevant agencies and authorities will need to continue to demonstrate significant improvements, and also that such improvements are being sustained and are effective.”
It's not a statement brimming with confidence, but it at least signifies the government’s intent to rectify the situation and hopefully put us firmly on the path to financial and business recovery.
There’s no doubt the country must work hard not only to revitalise our economic prospects but also restore our global reputation as a trustworthy and innovative economic player.
We can all play our part in helping South Africa achieve this essential milestone, and as always, if we work together towards a goal that will benefit us all, there’s no mountain we can’t move.