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US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo urged South Africa to step up its battle against corruption. He said that it helps boost job creation in a country facing an unemployment rate of 43% among those under 35
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo urged South Africa to step up its battle against corruption. He said that it helps boost job creation in a country facing an unemployment rate of 43% among those under 35.
Adeyemo highlighted the need for increased anti-corruption efforts, continued work to accelerate South Africa’s just transition to renewable energy, and steps to foster growth in its diverse service sector. This, Adeyemo said, in a speech delivered at the American Chamber of Commerce in Johannesburg. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hammered home similar messages during her visit to South Africa just over a year ago.
Investments alone cannot unlock the potential of your economy, Adeyemo said on the third day of his visit to the United States’ biggest trading partner in Africa.
Adeyemo, whose visit includes stops in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg, said Washington stood ready to build upon a joint effort to combat illicit wildlife trafficking – a trade fuelled by corruption and organized crime – that both countries launched during Yellen’s visit last year.
He noted that the US Treasury Department recently released its National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, which highlights the costs of corruption in the US and how to end it.
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Adeyemo’s trip comes amid tensions between Washington and Africa’s most industrialized economy over Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and more recently Pretoria’s criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
