Despite facing significant personal risks, whistleblowers across South Africa continue to report corruption in substantial numbers, according to Corruption Watch.
Lebo Ramafoko, Executive Director at Corruption Watch, disclosed that the organization receives an average of 185 corruption reports per month, with 96 percent containing substantiating evidence. Gauteng accounts for a large portion of these complaints, with fraud and procurement irregularities cited as the most frequently reported issues.
“Despite the risk to whistleblowers, a number of them still come out and report wrongdoing,” Ramafoko stated.
The policing sector and the Department of Basic Education were identified as recurring areas of concern, with local government also emerging as a key source of reports involving maladministration, fraud, and bribery. Ramafoko noted that these sectors have been the subject of previous Corruption Watch campaigns, indicating persistent systemic challenges.
While officials often engage respectfully with Corruption Watch and promise to respond to allegations, Ramafoko described the accountability process as “very, very slow.” Structural impediments—including long-term vacancies, officials serving in acting capacities, and frequent staff rotations—hamper timely follow-up. “Sometimes you are working with departments where people… are no longer in the positions that they were in,” Ramafoko explained.
Ramafoko highlighted systemic flaws that enable corruption to persist. Citing the recent textbook procurement tender controversy within the Department of Education, the spokesperson noted that individuals previously implicated in misconduct in one province have been appointed to positions elsewhere. “When you deal with that one individual… you are not going to succeed if you are not going to make sure that… somebody who was under investigation in one department cannot resign and move to another department,” Ramafoko said.
The practice of placing public servants on paid suspension while positions remain vacant or are filled by consultants further strains institutional capacity. While acknowledging that many officials genuinely wish to address corruption, Ramafoko emphasized that individual goodwill cannot overcome broken systems.
“We need to fix the system. We must also hold people personally liable for some of the delays in the problems that we see right now,” Ramafoko stated.
Ramafoko expressed cautious optimism regarding the Madlanga Commission, noting that recent arrests signal progress. However, the spokesperson stressed that sustained momentum requires legislative reforms, including laws that would hold officials personally accountable for failing to act on corruption cases. “The system has been taken over by organized crime in some instances but also by policies that just don’t support a clean state,” Ramafoko observed.
Looking ahead, Ramafoko pointed to several pending reforms. The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee has issued key recommendations that remain unimplemented. Additionally, the Protected Disclosures Bill, currently open for public comment, requires strengthening in eight areas to better safeguard whistleblowers, according to Corruption Watch and its partners.
While the Madlanga Commission has drawn lessons from the Zondo Commission on expediting arrests, Ramafoko warned that justice delayed remains justice denied. A comprehensive overhaul of policing structures and reforms to the National Prosecuting Authority Act are necessary to ensure investigations translate into successful prosecutions.
“Progress is slow,” Ramafoko acknowledged, “but we do see that even the NPA will need a lot of reform and the NPA Act will need an overhaul in order for us to have a stronger NPA that is able to successfully prosecute those that have been fingered in wrongdoing.”