Johannesburg — IN A bold admission that existing measures have failed, African National Congress (ANC) treasurer Mathews Phosa has mooted setting up an office for an anticorruption commissioner.

Phosa, speaking last night to investors in London at an event sponsored by Lonmin , admitted that graft and corruption in SA was of concern to investors.

He assured the business audience that SA would maintain its "conservative" economic policies and not nationalise mines.

Phosa described SA as "a country where crime and corruption is at unacceptable levels", and said graft was an issue of concern for global partners.

"We will and must move away from a culture of greed and self- enrichment to one of transparent accountability.

"We should also consider additional legal measures, one of them being the potential appointment of a corruption commissioner with wide-ranging legal powers," Phosa said.

"Swift accountability" was required to beat graft, Phosa said. The government needed to "regain the moral high ground" in the fight against corruption.

"The public protector is reactive. People lay a complaint, and only then does the public protector step in.

"What we need is a civilian body with teeth," Phosa told Business Day when asked how a corruption commissioner would differ from the plethora of existing anticorruption agencies.

Phosa was also keen to quash perceptions that the ANC was considering nationalising mines after comments to that effect by its youth league president, Julius Malema.

"Nationalisation of the mines is, however, not the policy of the ANC, nor that of the ANC-led government," Phosa said. He was at pains to reassure investors that the ANC would not make any shifts in economic policy.

"I know that you are concerned about the noise that you have been hearing around the issue of the nationalisation of mines in SA," he said.

"I understand that you regard this as a very serious issue, and I want to reassure you that we will manage it, keeping your substantial and historical interests in mind."

Phosa acknowledged concerns about the possibility of the government moving towards economic policies that were "investor unfriendly and less responsible than our current fiscal and monetary policies".

"Our budget policies will continue those that we developed over time, target inflation, encourage counter cyclical investments and relax export regulations," he said.