Madonsela backs Integrity Pact to clean up Gauteng tenders
Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council (GEAC) member Professor Thuli Madonsela says the newly introduced Integrity Pact could become a powerful tool in tackling corruption in public procurement and restoring trust in government.
She spoke to Jacaranda FM News at a high-level consultative session between the Gauteng Provincial Government and organised business leaders in Johannesburg.
The event focused on promoting ethical procurement and clean governance across the province.
The session, held on Monday, brought together key players including Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), the National Business Initiative (NBI), the Black Business Council (BBC), and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA).
The integrity pact, developed in partnership with the GEAC, builds on Gauteng’s existing open governance efforts, such as the Open Tender System. It aims to set clear expectations between the state and the private sector on procurement conduct, pricing, transparency, and accountability.
"The immediate change is the commitment,” said Madonsela.
"Instead of relying solely on the law or Treasury regulations, there’s now a document built into the tender process where a bidder signs to say: I commit to doing the right thing."
Service providers will now commit upfront to providing accurate information, fair pricing, and ethical billing.
Once signed, the pact acts as a self-enforcing contract, expediting accountability even before legal processes begin.
Madonsela said a key challenge the pact addresses is the abandonment of incomplete projects.
"Service providers often leave work incomplete because upfront payments are disproportionate.”
"This pact helps ensure proper pricing and accountability. If someone claims to be competent and fails to deliver, they’re accountable under both the law and the pact.”
She confirmed that the initiative has received positive feedback from civil society, including Corruption Watch and the Gauteng Anti-Corruption Forum.
Business associations like NBI and BLSA have also expressed support.
"The reaction has been positive, but there’s consensus: everyone must follow through and do what they’ve committed to,” said Madonsela.
The pact forms part of a broader provincial strategy to clean up tender processes in the wake of widespread Covid-19 procurement scandals.
According to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), over R14 billion in pandemic-era contracts were flagged as irregular, including inflated PPE deals and undelivered services from politically connected companies.
The SIU’s findings led to multiple blacklistings and criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority.
Gauteng itself was implicated in several irregular contracts, prompting Premier Panyaza Lesufi to intensify accountability measures.
Earlier this month, the premier announced lifestyle audits for senior officials, digitised procurement systems, and tougher enforcement across departments.
"We can’t keep asking people to trust the government while allowing corruption to go unpunished,” Lesufi said.
“This is about restoring integrity and ensuring every cent delivers value to the people.”
GEAC Chairperson Reverend Solomuzi Mabuza said the Integrity Pact must become the moral compass for governance in Gauteng.
"We want to cultivate a culture where clean governance is the default,” he said. “But it must be enforced with action.”
Organised business leaders welcomed the pact and committed to helping drive greater transparency.
The session also heard calls for stronger whistleblower protections and faster consequence management.
As the country continues to recover from the damage of pandemic-era corruption, the Gauteng government hopes the pact marks a turning point — one that sets a new standard for public-private accountability.
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