South Africa's central bank governor said on Wednesday he was confident the country would be removed from the international financial crimes watchdog's “grey list” next year, given ongoing work to resolve identified issues. .
Last year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed South Africa on its “grey list” of countries under special surveillance. Introduce standards to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetya Kganyago, speaking at a financial sector conference, said being on the watch list was “a costly event for us”.
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“The lesson is that safeguarding the integrity of South Africa's financial system requires a collective effort. When this is compromised, we all suffer,” he said.
Last month, Treasury confirmed that it had addressed or almost addressed five of the 22 items identified by the task force, but all 17 remaining items are expected to be addressed by February 2025, when the task force conducts its next round of activities. said it was difficult to deal with. review.
Being included on the list is damaging to the reputation of Africa's most developed economies, analysts say, as it is likely to attract funding and support from multilateral development agencies and official lenders, among other negative factors. Attempts to do so could be complicated, he said.
South Africa's economy grew by a meager 0.6% in 2023, with growth in the last quarter at just 0.1%.
“We are lagging behind. A big reason for that is that other places have functioning rail networks, ports and electricity,” Kganyago said.
At the same time, he said, government debt is growing too fast and is too high.
Inefficiencies at South Africa's state-run electricity company Eskom and port and freight rail operator Transnet are holding back growth, while the cost of living crisis is weighing down consumer spending.
