Forensic facility for Hawks up and running as business/government crime initiative forges ahead

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

By Ed Stoddard

20 Aug 2024

The special investigative unit known as the Hawks has acquired new talons in the form of a forensics lab. This is among the initiatives being driven by the partnership between business and government to tackle the scourges of crime and corruption.

Neal Froneman gave an update on the business/government crime stream during an online media briefing on Tuesday regarding the commemoration of the Marikana Massacre in 2012. Froneman is one of the leaders from the business side and was asked about its progress.

“The transition to a Government of National Unity has improved the collaboration between government and business,” Froneman said.

He focused on the initiatives to boost the state’s forensic investigative capabilities, pointedly noting that South African authorities must still send Apple iPhones abroad to unlock their digital secrets.

Part of this is aimed at improving the Hawks’ forensic capability to investigate cases of money laundering.

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Froneman said the forensic lab for the Hawks “... is operating, people are being trained. That was put in place by Sabric (South African Banking Risk Information Centre) and the banking sector. This is happening as we speak.

“It is an existing facility… instead of reinventing the wheel we have put it on steroids. Sabric started a training programme and we have enhanced it.”

Froneman added that there were 20 high-profile money laundering cases which needed to be addressed to get South Africa off the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force. This listing is a major red flag and a deterrent to investment.

The initiative to boost the NPA’s forensic armoury to follow the spoor of the Zondo Commission is taking longer, and Froneman said “... that is probably still a year out”.

The crime and corruption initiative is part of a broader partnership between business and government which also includes power supply and transport and logistics. These have been identified as the key areas to fix to reboot the economy and attract high levels of foreign investment.

The straight-talking Froneman has long spoken his mind about such issues. He also blasted South Africa’s foreign policy which in the eyes of some critics has an anti-Western tinge.

“We don’t, as business, want to tell the government what their foreign policy should be, but their current one doesn’t work – it’s got to change,” he said.

Which is kind of like telling the government what its foreign policy should be.

The power situation has improved dramatically this year with no nationwide rolling power cuts since late March, while there are promising signs that state-run logistics company Transnet is finally turning a corner.

Hopefully, sharpening the forensic tools of the Hawks and the NPA will also yield some dividends in the form of convictions. DM

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