Tag: RiskManagement

South Africa has been fighting corruption with legislation that, frankly, lacked teeth. The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (PRECCA) has long been the cornerstone of the country's anti-corruption framework - criminalising bribery, fraud and a broad range of corrupt conduct in both the public and private sectors. The law was there. The convictions, historically, were not. That is rapidly changing.

Recent severe weather events across South Africa have once again highlighted the agricultural sector's growing exposure to climate-related risks. While hail has historically been one of the most visible threats, farmers increasingly face a combination of hazards. These include strong winds, heavy rainfall, localised flooding and unseasonal weather patterns. Often, these hazards occur within the same production cycle.

Attackers aren’t breaking in; they’re being invited, and the invitations are being written by the business. The easiest way to install malware on a business network is to persuade someone inside the business to do it. Attackers don’t always need to bypass the firewall or exploit a zero-day vulnerability. Sometimes, all it takes is a convincing email, a moment of misplaced confidence and trust.

In June, Meta experienced a global outage that disrupted Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp services for users worldwide. The outage left many businesses temporarily unable to connect with customers through some of their most important digital channels. While the disruption was temporary, it highlighted the risks associated with relying too heavily on a single digital platform.

As weather patterns evolve and climate-related risks intensify, the construction sector must rethink how it assesses flood exposure. South Africa is on the cusp of yet another unprecedented weather cycle. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) predicts a moderate-to-strong El Niño event developing between now and August 2026.

If there is one thing organisations know well, it is that disputes are expensive. The expense extends beyond legal fees. It also includes management time, damaged relationships and strategic distraction. A supplier dispute that should take weeks can consume months of senior attention. For multinationals juggling cross-jurisdictional matters, the logistical burden alone can dwarf the value of the underlying claim.

South Africa has experienced over three decades of democracy. One of the main factors determining our economic resilience will not only be growth and innovation. It will also be the safety and well-being of our workforce. Yet many companies continue to take a reactive approach to workplace safety.

King V reframes corporate governance as a competitive necessity. It embeds Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors and integrated thinking at the heart of board decision-making. The question boardrooms across South Africa are now facing is what this framework demands in practice when it comes to overseeing Artificial Intelligence (AI).

White-collar crime in Africa is no longer a predominantly domestic concern. It has expanded onto an international stage, and so has the corporate exposure that comes with it. As capital crosses borders, data moves at the speed of light, and corporate structures become more complex, economic crime has kept pace. It has become more sophisticated, more multinational and increasingly difficult to investigate and prosecute within the confines of a single legal system.

Regulatory compliance in cybersecurity is no longer an administrative chore that organisations can treat as an afterthought. As digital ecosystems expand, threat actors are leveraging automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven reconnaissance and supply-chain attack vectors. Consequently, governments are moving from advisory guidelines to enforceable directives.