Organised crime is “the most immediate threat” to South Africa’s democracy, society and economy, says Cyril Ramaphosa, the president. Business leaders say it worries them more than any other issue, even power cuts. Over the past year, a public inquiry has revealed staggering(令人震惊的) collusion(勾结，串通) between gangs, officials and senior police. By one estimate, South Africa is the seventh-most vulnerable country in the world to mafia predation.(据一项估计，南非是全球第七大易受黑手党侵蚀的国家。) Only Congo, Myanmar and a few Latin American states do worse.
南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨表示，有组织犯罪是对南非民主、社会和经济“最直接的威胁”。商界领袖称，这一问题比任何其他问题都更令他们担忧，甚至超过停电。过去一年，一项公开调查揭露了黑帮、官员与高级警察之间令人震惊的勾结。据一项估计，南非是全球第七大易受黑手党侵蚀的国家。只有刚果、缅甸和少数几个拉丁美洲国家的情况更糟。
South Africa has long had a reputation for violent crime. It has also been a hub(枢纽，中心) for trafficking drugs, people and endangered wildlife. But a number of trends have made a grim(严峻的，令人沮丧的) situation grimmer. One is the growth of illicit forms of businesses that are normally legal. Most cigarettes sold in South Africa are bootlegged(走私的，非法贩卖的), as are huge volumes of booze and petrol; and illegal mining knocked 0.8% off(使减少了0.8%) recorded GDP in 2024. Another is the rise of extortion(敲诈勒索) mafias, which demand cash for not sabotaging building projects, setting fire to buses or murdering teachers. A third trend is that gangs have infiltrated the state, like the bloodsucking ticks that give bush hikers a fever.(其三是黑帮已渗透进国家机器，就像让丛林徒步者发烧的吸血蜱虫一样。)
南非长期以来以暴力犯罪闻名，也一直是毒品、人口和濒危野生动物贩运的枢纽。但若干趋势让本已严峻的局势雪上加霜。其一是原本合法的行业出现了非法经营形式。南非销售的大部分香烟都是走私货，酒类和汽油也有大量走私；非法采矿使2024年记录的GDP减少了0.8%。其二是敲诈勒索型黑帮的兴起，他们索要现金，否则就破坏建筑项目、纵火烧公交车或杀害教师。其三是黑帮已渗透进国家机器，就像让丛林徒步者发烧的吸血蜱虫一样。
The good news is that South Africa is fighting back. It has independent courts, a lively civil society, punchy(有力的，简洁犀利的) media and voters who are utterly sick of(彻底厌倦了) crime. Mr Ramaphosa, who came to power promising to clean up after a gangster-coddling(纵容黑帮的) predecessor, Jacob Zuma(南非前总统，因腐败丑闻下台), wants to leave a decent legacy(留下体面的政治遗产). So the country has a chance to avoid mafia-state status.
好消息是，南非正在反击。它拥有独立的法院、活跃的公民社会、有力的媒体，以及彻底厌倦了犯罪的选民。拉马福萨先生上台时承诺要清理纵容黑帮的前任雅各布·祖马留下的烂摊子，他希望留下体面的政治遗产。因此，南非有机会避免沦为黑手党国家。
A sting in the tale
故事中的刺