ANDY MOTHIBI | Crossing the river together: How South Africa’s G20 leadership is uniting Africa and the world against corruption
Executive Summary
South Africa, assuming the G20 presidency for the first time as an African nation, is leveraging its leadership to combat corruption—a major threat to Africa's development—under the theme of 'Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability,' amid the continent's lowest 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index score. Through the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which chairs anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa and co-chairs the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, the country is forging memoranda of understanding for joint investigations, asset recovery, capacity building with AI, and whistleblower protections, while addressing illicit financial flows and corruption in climate finance. This unified approach amplifies African priorities globally, promising enhanced transparency, sustainable resource use, and progress against corruption's erosion of trust and equality.