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SACU expects to avoid SA greylisting spillover

Under threat: South Africa’s greylisting will increase the payments and settlements period for financial transactions, impacting on trade within the region
Under threat: South Africa’s greylisting will increase the payments and settlements period for financial transactions, impacting on trade within the region

Finance ministry technocrats do not expect the greylisting of the region’s biggest economy to significantly impact Southern African Customs Union (SACU) activity and revenue, incomes which are critical for member states such as Botswana.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s leading anti-money laundering organisation, recently greylisted South Africa citing deficiencies in the country’s ability to prevent the flow of dirty money in its systems. The FATF greylisted Botswana between 2018 and 2021, only lifting the label after government and Parliament fast-tracked more than a dozen new laws and amendments, to plug the identified weaknesses.

For Botswana, the greylisting prompted an automatic blacklisting by the European Union and proved a disincentive for investment, while also increasing the due diligence on payments to and from the country, making these take far longer than should have.


Editor's Comment
No room for perjury

It seems some government accounting officers, sworn to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing else but the truth" before Almighty God, may have deliberately lied during the committee’s vital work. If proven, this is not merely unprofessional; it is perjury, a serious criminal offence and it strikes at the very heart of responsible government.The PAC’s role is fundamental. After each financial year, it painstakingly examines how public...

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