President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday expressed confidence in the Special Tribunal and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), saying they are the most effective weapons in the fight against corruption.

The Special Tribunal was established to recover public funds taken from the fiscus through corruption, fraud and illicit money flows.

Ramaphosa said since its establishment, the Tribunal has recovered around R8.6-billion from unlawful contracts.

He warned those who have stolen from the State, saying they will learn that crime does not pay.

“But the arm of the law is long. Those who have stolen from the State may believe they have gotten away with it. But their deeds will eventually catch up with them, whoever they are, and whatever position they may hold,” said Ramaphosa.

He blamed corrupt relationships for the inability of the State to deliver on its mandate, saying corruption set back the State’s efforts to provide decent healthcare, clean water and power to communities and businesses.

“There is still a long way to go, and there is a huge amount of stolen public funds that still need to be recovered. But the SIU and the Special Tribunal have made a good start, and I am confident of many more successes in the months and years ahead,” Ramaphosa said.

He believes that the Special Tribunal has shown that the country is steadily turning the tide against corruption, noting that perpetrators are being arrested and are also having to return the proceeds of their crimes.

Last week, the Special Tribunal ordered two construction companies to return the profits they earned from R40-million in contracts to erect the Beit Bridge border fence.

This followed an investigation by the SIU that uncovered a number of irregularities, including a pre-payment to the companies by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Over the past few weeks, the Tribunal has reviewed and set aside more than R100-million worth of irregular and unlawful contracts arising from Covid-related procurement.

“I have said before that winning the war on corruption will be difficult, and that it will take time to unravel the vast webs of patronage that had become entrenched. I have also maintained that we must fight private sector corruption with equal vigour, because for every public sector employee willing to be bribed, there is a business person willing to pay a bribe,” Ramaphosa said.