South Africa’s first assessment under Phase 4 of the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) Working Group on Bribery (WGB) took place over the period 25 November to 29 November 2024 at the Financial Intelligence Centre Head Quarters in Centurion, where the OECD Assessors (from Australia, Hungary and the OECD Secretariat) met with the South African delegation to assess South Africa’s compliance with the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (the Convention).
The Convention establishes legally binding standards to criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions and provides for related measures to ensure effectiveness. The WGB uses an established peer review monitoring system in four phases to assess the implementation progress of the Convention, selecting two countries with comparable legal systems for each evaluation.
The OECD Delegation comprised the lead assessors of Australia and Hungary, as well as the OECD Secretariat. This assessment provided an opportunity for South Africa to consult on difficulties in the implementation of the Convention, learn from other countries’ experiences, and identify cross-country issues. The monitoring process is compulsory for all parties and includes onsite meetings with government and non-government actors. The onsite assessment is subject to specific agreed-upon assessment procedures of the OECD WGB.
During the November onsite assessment, seventeen panels from South Africa appeared before the assessors. Government officials who helped detect and report foreign bribery were on the panels, along with academics, lawyers, journalists, judges, magistrates, and business groups. They talked about a wide range of topics, such as the enforcement of foreign bribery crimes (including legal and institutional issues, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery), mutual legal assistance and extradition, detecting and investigating foreign bribery crime, the views of civil society, government views on anti-money laundering measures, tax measures, the views of big companies and state-owned businesses, and accounting and auditing. Following the completion of the onsite Phase 4 Assessments, the assessors will collaborate with South Africa to prepare a preliminary report on the country’s performance, which will include recommendations and follow-up issues.
In June 2025, the WGB members will vote to adopt the draft report and its findings. Following the finalization of the assessment process in June 2025, South Africa will need to respond to the WGB’s findings and rectify any identified deficiencies. The OECD website will publish the final adopted report, alongside a press release. The publication of the assessment reports ensures transparency in the WGB’s monitoring work and raises awareness of the importance of combating bribery by foreign public officials in international business transactions.
South Africa (SA) progressed to Phase 4 in January 2024 after successfully concluding its final Phase 3 Evaluation Report at the December 2023 Working Group on Bribery (WGB) meeting in Paris, France. Below is the background and timeline of South Africa’s participation up to this point:
- In 2007, SA acceded to the Convention.
- South Africa underwent Phase 1 Evaluation in 2008, and the WGB adopted a final evaluation report that same year. Phase 1 is a self-evaluation activity focusing on identifying legislative instruments and processes utilized by governments to resist foreign bribery.
- South Africa began the Phase 2 Evaluation in 2009, and the WGB adopted and published a final evaluation report in June 2010. Phase 2 concentrates on the implementation and effectiveness of such instruments and mechanisms.
- South Africa launched its Phase 3 Evaluation in 2013, with assessors from the United States of America and Hungary assessing the country. The WGB conducted the first Phase 3 Evaluation in March 2014 and requested that South Africa routinely report on its progress in implementing the WGB recommendations, as detailed in the 2014 Phase 3 Evaluation. To fulfil its obligation under the Phase 3 Assessment, SA provided nine reports to the WGB, with the final report submitted in December 2023 and paved the way for advancing South Africa to Phase 4.
- Â Phase 4 considers the evaluated country’s particular challenges and positive achievements. It also explores issues such as detection, enforcement, corporate liability, and international cooperation from a foreign bribery perspective, as well as covering unresolved issues from prior reports.
