Last throes of ANC drive looting before November polls
· Citizen
South Africa’s graft crisis is deepening as watchdogs and analysts warn the looming local government elections will fuel intensified looting by councillors and officials who fear they will not return to office.
Political parties cite the lack of consequences for acts of corruption and poor protection of whistle-blowers as root causes of the rise in graft.
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Watchdogs warn officials grab padkos as power fades
An analyst said ANC politicians see the last segment of their power as an opportunity for more looting as their “padkos” on the way out of office, because many have no hope of being re-elected in November.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) believes the surge in corruption complaints is directly linked to the 4 November polls, with councillors and mayors scrambling to enrich themselves before voters show them the door.
Outa chief executive Wayne Duvenage said the elections were a major factor in the current public graft.
“Most corruption in South Africa is related to politics, and it’s worse now because even the president of the country is concerned about his own demons from the Phala Phala scandal.
“Corruption is worse in local government and people are trying to get as much as they can out of the system. I cannot attribute how much, but the coming elections are sure a factor in the rise in corruption,” Duvenage said.
DA national spokesperson Karabo Khakhau stated the rise in graft was due to lack of consequences for crime in the country.
Lack of consequences for crime
“The increase in reported corruption is based on what we have seen at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry – a total breakdown in consequences for crime. The criminal justice system is broken and so people do not feel that there are any negative consequences for committing a crime.
Khakhau noted total failures in consequence management for corrupt police, collapsing governance standards in the SA Police Service and the criminal justice system, in many critical institutions and the erosion of prosecution capacity over a prolonged period.
She said the fight against corruption cannot be won until the police service and the criminal justice system is cleaned up and those who engage in criminality and corruption start going to jail.
ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe expressed concern that so many years since the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, whistle-blowers remained poorly protected, even under the Madlanga inquiry.
“They remain vulnerable to intimidation, stigmatisation and prosecution, with most losing their lives while waiting for some kind of justice to prevail.
“There are institutional weaknesses that have undermined the effectiveness of whistle-blowers as their work does not lead to a direct imprisonment of the criminals who are at the centre of graft,” Kobe said.
Whistle-blower poorly protected
Kobe added if the whistle-blowing efforts of slain Gauteng health department’s official Babita Deokaran, who was assassinated, led to the direct imprisonment of the those responsible for the massive corruption at Tembisa Hospital, or Mpho Mafole’s disclosure led to the arrest of corrupt officials in Emfuleni municipality, then people could expect to see a decline in graft cases.
“The disappointing reality is although their role has been crucial in exposing graft, institutional gaps and weaknesses – delays in investigations for months on end and lack of protection for whistle-blowers will undermine the state’s fight against corruption.
“Which is why we need to fasttrack legislation and pass the ‘Fallen Whistle-blowers Bill’ to ensure we tighten those regulations and ensure better protection and improved institutional reporting mechanisms for whistle-blowers,” Kobe said.
Independent political economy analyst Sandile Swana said the ANC’s waning grip on power was driving comrades to loot state resources as a “last act of greed”.
“I do not expect corruption to drop as the ANC loses power. They are preparing their padkos towards the door, but over the next five to 10 years, we are still going to have a rough and tumble,” Swana said.
Duvenage and Swana were reacting to Corruption Watch’s 2025 annual report, released on Monday, which revealed nine out of 10 complaints lodged last year were concerned with state graft.
91% of complaints cite state graft
The report said of the 2 222 complaints received during the year under review, 91% related to corruption.
Maladministration topped the list with 408 cases, followed by fraud (330) and bribery or extortion (245).
Gauteng emerged as the epicentre of graft, with Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape also heavily affected.
Swana said the findings were not surprising given the looting spree by politicians.
He warned the ANC’s protection of President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal undermined accountability.
United Democratic Movement deputy president Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said selective prosecution was fuelling corruption.
Selective prosecution fuelling corruption
He added that while some officials were held accountable through commissions, political principals who enabled or benefited from graft were untouched.
Political analyst Daniel Silke said corruption had become endemic over two decades of poor governance, particularly under the ANC and allied parties.
“The corruption is deeply ingrained and is going to take time to eradicate.
“The political culture in SA has been so deeply poisoned by corruption it becomes difficult to fight, despite commissions and high-profile arrests,” Silke said.