JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Corruption has been one of the greatest failings of South Africa as it carries a huge opportunity cost and stifles economic growth, said President Cyril Ramaphosa Wednesday.

"Corruption has wounded our democracy and shaken people's faith in our institutions. If corruption is not arrested, the greatest damage will not be in the funds stolen, the jobs lost or the services not delivered. The greatest damage will be to the belief in democracy itself," Ramaphosa said at the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council meeting held in Johannesburg.

The country is now in the process of developing legislation that will insulate the appointment and removal processes for key positions shown to be vulnerable to state capture, he said.

The South African Revenue Service has collected 4.9 billion rand (about 266 million U.S. dollars) in unpaid taxes as a result of evidence brought before the State Capture Commission, according to the president.

"Freezing orders amounting to 14 billion rand have been authorized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit, and a total of 5.4 billion rand has been recovered and returned to the state," Ramaphosa said, who vowed to implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy to continue to crack down on corruption. Enditem

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