A State of Corruption
This month’s edition entitled A State of Corruption, explores South Africa's endemic corruption problem. The report draws on data sets from all spheres of government to reveal the prevalence of patronage and rent-seeking that exists within the state. Will President Ramaphosa be able to root out corruption given the widespread allegations of graft within the senior ranks of the ANC and his insistence on preserving unity within the party?
Publication description
Key takeaways:
- A mere 8% of South Africa’s municipalities had an unqualified (clean) audit in the 2018/19 financial year.
- Unauthorised expenditure is higher at local government level than at the national level.
- Irregular expenditure is higher at the national level than at local government level.
- Fruitless and wasteful expenditure is also higher at the national level than at local government level.
- Together, unauthorised/irregular/fruitless and wasteful expenditure at local and national government levels accounts for about 10% of the government’s procurement budget and 57% of the police and defence budget.