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South Africa has serious levels of crime which impact individuals and companies continuously. The crimes can take the form of organised syndicates stealing railway tracks and cables to gangs attacking cash-in-transit vans and supermarkets. Countering crime costs all companies in this country a substantial percentage of their profits and sometimes leads to massive disruptions in key functions like the export of raw materials to our ports, or disruption of business due to cable theft. Almost all government functions are subject to corruption at various levels. For example, government tenders are a major area where frauds are continuously perpetrated at significant cost to the Treasury. Andre de Ruyter said in his book "Truth to Power" that corruption was costing Eskom about R1bn a month. Crime impacts on all listed companies - some more than others. For example, in their latest financial statements for the year to 30th September 2023 Pepkor Holdings (PPH) said, "Increasing levels of crime, including burglaries and armed robberies of stores, electricity infrastructure damage and cable theft negatively impacts operations, including employee and customer safety. In response, the group has put numerous measures in place to safeguard employees and assets, resulting in additional costs". When considering a JSE-listed company, especially one with a large percentage of its business in South Africa, its vulnerability to crime must be considered.

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