Following South Africa's recent greylisting, Allen & Overy Senior Associate Rebecca Thomson joins Polity to discuss the implications for South Africa.

She disagreed with President Cyril Ramaphosa's statement that the greylisting is an opportunity to strengthen the country's financial system.

She says there's a difference between opportunity and necessity and points out that South African banks are "doing what they are supposed to do".

"The problems that have been identified as these eight strategic deficiencies that are still unaddressed, in fact, have to do more with enforcement of the laws and regulations that have been put in place. So where the real issue comes in is with the prosecuting authorities, the police and ability for the prosecuting authorities to coordinate their effort with the regulators who are collecting information from the banks, to enable them to identify money laundering risks, money laundering patterns, and terrorist financing – it all goes hand in hand," she said.

She says if the country is to progress economically we have to come off the greylist.