Re: SA's growing organised crime epidemic: is it becoming a "Mafia State?"

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South Africa has become a hub of organised crime, according to a report by
the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime. Organised
networks, both inside and outside the state, are enabling and exploiting
opportunities for private gain and unfairly impacting economic activity in
both public and private sectors. Criminal influence has seeped into
healthcare, education, and parastatals, making speaking out against
malfeasance a dangerous proposition. The growing prevalence of organised
crime has led to calls of South Africa becoming a “mafia state.” The
government must assert its authority and better policing strategies are
necessary to prevent the slide towards a criminal state.

Link between crime and politics in South Africa raises concerns about
criminal gangs taking over
By Sandy Africa

A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime
(Gitoc) released in September 2022 argues that South Africa has
increasingly become a centre of organised crime, transcending national
boundaries.

The picture emerging from the report is that there are organised networks
inside and outside the state that enable, facilitate and exploit
opportunities for private gain. Or, they exercise unfair advantage in
economic activity in the public and private sectors, using coercive
methods. Some actively go about sabotaging critical infrastructure to
benefit from this.

The areas of public life where criminals exploit or intimidate their way
into influence are growing. In recent times grand-scale crime has seeped
through to healthcare, education and parastatals. Speaking out against
malfeasance comes at a high price.

This is apart from the scores of political assassinations of local
activists and officials, either for political gain or sheer vengeance
against those who dare to call out corruption.

Mafia state
There is no doubt that there is a growing ecosystem of organised crime
overwhelming the state and public life in the country. And, because
political actors or state institutions are so often implicated in it, some
commentators are even asking if South Africa is becoming a “mafia state”.

The term “mafia state” refers to the interpenetration of governments and
organised crime networks. In his influential 2012 article, Mafia States,
Venezuelan journalist and writer Moises Naim said:

In a mafia state, high government officials actually become integral
players in, if not the leaders of, criminal enterprises, and the defence
and promotion of those enterprises’ businesses become official priorities.

There is no single prototype for when a state can be labelled a mafia
state. The concept is best thought of as a spectrum. The most extreme
cases involve politicians at the highest levels taking direct control of
organised crime operations. Other characteristics are collusion between
crime syndicates and powerful political figures, money laundering to hide
illicit proceeds, and the use of violence and intimidation to protect
those involved.

The Gitoc report shies away from using the label “mafia state” to describe
South Africa. What it does make clear is that there is a proliferation of
crime networks that involves not just criminal “kingpins” and politically
connected individuals but also ordinary people. They become part of this
“value chain”, for different historical reasons. But South Africa may be
reaching a point where the link between crime and politics is sustained
because there are role-players who do not want to see it changing.

Fighting corruption
The prevalence of criminal elements within the state does not mean that
the whole of the state has become a criminal enterprise. But it is true
that many state institutions, have been targeted by criminals, with the
collusion of people on the inside.

South Africans are not resigned to the criminalisation of the state, and
are actively challenging it. Many of the revelations about fraud,
corruption and nepotism come from principled whistle-blowers within state
structures. Others come from the relatively free media, and voices in
civil society and politics. Some of the malfeasance has been revealed by
inquiries initiated by the executive itself. This is the case with the
Zondo Commission, which probed state capture.

Poor communication strategies make it difficult for ordinary citizens to
assess how the state is responding to these challenges. A case in point is
the government’s decision to deploy the military to beef up security at
several electricity generation facilities. It remains to be seen whether
the deployment will be able to stop the acts of sabotage that the ESKOM
senior management claim to be a major factor in the worsening energy
crisis.

As with the July 2021 riots, sparked by the jailing of former president
Jacob Zuma for contempt of court, there are conflicting public
pronouncements from cabinet ministers on critical sectors and services
affected by crime.

The political economy of organised crime
The South African economy has a formal sector (“first economy”) and an
informal sector (“second economy”). Economists call this a dual economy.
To this should be added a “third economy” – the illicit economic
activities described above, that have seeped into the formal and informal
economies.

The overlap between the licit and the illicit economy in South Africa is
complex. Even big, multinational companies may also covertly engage in
illicit operations in spite of appearances. On the other hand, criminals
often exploit vulnerable people where the state has failed to meet basic
needs: they offer jobs, opportunities and income, a phenomenon seen not
only in South Africa, but across the African continent.

Looking forward
Part of the reset South Africa needs to untangle political and crime
networks is better policing and security strategies. The state must be
able to assert its authority in the interests of the majority, law-abiding
citizens who want to live honest lives in a climate of certainty.

If the crime-politics nexus is being deliberately sustained through the
collusion of influential actors within the state, then it is going to be
much harder to dismantle.

The resources being spent to address crime will be ineffective. The
spectre of corrupt, pliable or compromised people in the criminal justice
sector will make the future more unstable. Violence and threats against
those who stand up against organised crime will become more commonplace.

The reports of the Zondo Commission, the Special Investigating Unit,
whistle-blower reports, work by investigative journalists, research by
academics, think tanks and civil society organisations, all go some way
towards showing how the slide towards a criminal state can be halted. The
criminal justice system must bring criminals to book, not give way to
impunity.

But more important than combating crime is asking the difficult questions
about how ordinary people end up involved in organised crime, and why the
country’s democracy is becoming more polarised.

If the dire socio-economic conditions persist, there is every likelihood
that organised criminals will continue to exploit the contradictions in
society, and organised crime markets will expand.

The stakes are high. Stopping South Africa from becoming a “mafia state”
ought to be a priority for everyone. This will become a key issue of
concern to voters ahead of the 2024 national general elections.

https://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2023/02/07/sa-mafia-state