Corruption Watch: Bribery, employment irregularities, abuse of power among top corruption in municipalities

The latest report titled ‘South Africa Needs Clean Hands’ was released on Wednesday morning.

Corruption Watch researcher and author of the report, Melusi Ncala, says it highlights the corruption issues that have plagued municipalities throughout South Africa for almost 10 years.

“The municipalities most implicated in corruption-related reports constitute major metropolitan municipalities. City of Johannesburg tops the list with 700 reports, while Ekurhuleni comes in at 354, City of Tshwane at 325, eThekwini with 166, and City of Cape Town at 125 reports.

“The most prevalent types of corruption taking place within the office of the municipal manager include irregularities in the procurement process, embezzlement of funds, and employment irregularities, all of which have a direct link to service delivery. Reports also point to nepotism, bribery, and disregard for policies and laws, with implicated officials rarely being held accountable. There are several instances of companies billing double for services, such as in the City of Cape Town, or allegations of business syndicates with major influence over municipal processes,”says Ncala.

He adds the majority of cases highlight leadership crises.

“What is evident in the majority of corruption cases relating to local governance is that South Africa, broadly, has a leadership crisis.

“Consequently, the hedges of the country’s democracy are unprotected because politicians and administrators alike are serving personal, factional and private interests. Not even a global pandemic could make them pause and think about the people they promised to serve. During their frenzy, the hardships experienced by the elderly, unemployed youth, the impoverished men and women, were compounded due to a lack of basic service delivery,” 

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