SANISHA PACKIRISAMY: The shadow tax: How mafias are crippling South Africa
Criminal syndicates are holding South Africans to ransom. Urgent action is needed to dismantle these networks, restore law and order, and reignite economic growth
South African business is caught in the clutches of an underworld corporation, ruled by mafia-style syndicates that levy a shadow tax through extortion. These organised crime networks dominate sectors from construction to spaza shops, forcing victims to pay for protection or hand over ownership of projects under threats of violence, vandalism or even death.
The 2023 global organised crime index ranked South Africa seventh worst out of 193 countries on criminality, a steep slide from 19th two years ago, just behind countries such as Myanmar, Mexico and Colombia; even war-torn nations like Afghanistan and Syria are scoring better than South Africa. In Africa, South Africa is third, and first in Southern Africa. Worsening criminality and resilience scores reflect faltering resistance from nonstate actors, weaker national policies and eroding economic regulation. This isn’t just crime — it’s a shadow regime, where syndicate bosses siphon wealth and choke the economy...
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