Corruption Watch said since its launch in 2012, the organisation has received over 20 000 reports from the public citing corruption in various sectors of South African society.
The organisation released its 2017 report on Wednesday, titled, The Time Is Now.
Executive Director, David Lewis, said the report paints a picture of a more emboldened and vocal public, as evidenced by the 25% increase in the number of reports of corruption in 2017, and the range of interventions undertaken by the Corruption Watch team.
“It is also evident in the timeline that highlights the key political and economic events that took place in 2017,” he said.
Lewis said that 2017 was a landmark year but it was only reached with great effort on the part of civil society and the media and an independent judiciary. “Above all, it was achieved by an active and vigilant public. Corruption cannot be overcome without those who are willing to blow the whistle. They are the true heroes,” he said.
Calling on the public to blow the whistle is the centrepiece of Corruption Watch’s model, Lewis said: “We call on the public to continue reporting corruption to us. We owe our democracy to the vigilance and tenacity of our people. Increased vigilance is the duty we continue to owe to our democracy.”
Since its launch in 2012, the organisation has received over 20 000 reports from the public citing corruption in various sectors, of which 5 334 were lodged during 2017.
The organisation said as in previous years, the majority of reports, 46%, originated from Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 13% and the Western Cape coming in third with 8% of the total. “This is less a result of Gauteng being the most corrupt province, but rather due to its population, the largest in the country, and level of economic activity”.
Corruption Watch said out of the total number of reports, 30% pointed to corruption at a provincial government level, while 29% allege corruption in national government and 22% at the local government level.
“Of the remainder, 9% were complaints in the private sector, and 10% unspecified. Most corruption tends to take place at the interface between the public and private sectors, and the most common form of corruption reported is bribery, which accounts for 27% of reports received in 2017. Embezzlement of funds featured in 13% of reports, followed by procurement irregularities”.
However, the organisation said that “corruption in schools remained one of the hotspots of 2017, cornering 15% of the total, followed by reports of corruption in SAPS with 6%, traffic and licensing with 5% and health and housing both at 4% of the total”.
“The Time is Now, emphasises that the strides made in exposing corruption in the public and private sectors during 2017 must continue in 2018 and beyond,” Corruption Watch said.
“The report also urges the public to keep up the pressure in holding leaders to account, whoever they may be, and in scrutinising the performance and governance of key public and private institutions”.
