Despite the establishment of a progressive anti-corruption task team to achieve the targets, South Africa faced challenges in fighting corruption. These obstacles needed to be overcome to improve investors' trust and willingness to invest in South Africa, he said.

Hofmeyr - whom President Jacob Zuma removed from the SIU in December apparently to focus on the Asset Forfeiture Unit - gave a glimpse of how the control of power within government structures affected one of the country's most crippling social ills.

"If we are to deal with corruption effectively it is very important that the different parts and streams of government work more closely than we do at the moment," he said.

"The difficulty . is that there is not a great coherence to what we do. There is not a single place where the accountability rests."

Addressing delegates at the Institute of Internal Auditors SA's public-sector forum in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, Hofmeyr said the anti-corruption task team established by the cabinet and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe was central to bringing "greater coherence and coordination" to corruption-busting. But the unit, which investigates politicians, heads of departments and state institutions, was plagued by authoritarian individuals. Control versus the need to work as a team at times hampered investigations.

"The government is putting building blocks in place, but it still needs a coherent overall strategy that should be broader than just the government," Hofmeyr said.

The task team's target of convicting 100 people who possess illicit assets worth more than R5-million by 2014 was "very ambitious as only about five have [been convicted] in the previous 10 years".

The anti-corruption task team - which consists of the Hawks, the SIU and the National Prosecuting Authority and which is supported by SARS and the treasury's accountant-general - has so far initiated 56 investigations, which have led to 26 people appearing in court.

Assets of 21 of the 26 - worth more than R500-million - have been frozen. This might increase to R1-billion in the "foreseeable future".

In total, 392 suspects have been nabbed by the unit, with 183 having appeared in court and nine successfully convicted.

Hofmeyr said the public perception that corruption had increased over the past five years was not true.

"The number of people investigating full-time has increased dramatically. This is why we see a lot more [stories about] corruption in the newspapers . the government is serious about it."