At the end of 2026, South African citizens will vote for their local government representatives. It's not too early to start giving careful consideration to who gets that vote, especially in light of a new policy brief from ENACT and the Institute for Security Studies, which examines the patterns of corruption in local government and compares them to those found in organised crime. "The more organised, normalised and profitable corruption becomes in local government across South Africa, the less incentive there will be for good governance."

At the end of 2026, South African citizens will vote for their local government representatives. It's not too early to start giving careful consideration to who gets that vote, especially in light of a new policy brief from ENACT and the Institute for Security Studies, which examines the patterns of corruption in local government and compares them to those found in organised crime. "The more organised, normalised and profitable corruption becomes in local government across South Africa, the less incentive there will be for good governance."

Can municipal corruption be called organised crime?

Corruption news

Towards the end of 2025 the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an organisation supporting democracy around the world, published the latest edition of The Global State of Democracy, an index that assesses democratisation across the world. The results show a global pattern of weakening democracy. South Africa, despite some low scores, for instance in Absence of Corruption, did not fare too badly overall.

Towards the end of 2025 the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an organisation supporting democracy around the world, published the latest edition of The Global State of Democracy, an index that assesses democratisation across the world. The results show a global pattern of weakening democracy. South Africa, despite some low scores, for instance in Absence of Corruption, did not fare too badly overall.

The global state of democracy is cause for concern

Press release

Appointment of the new national director of public prosecutions

Corruption Watch notes the surprise announcement of the appointment of Adv Andy Mothibi, current SIU head, as the new national director of public prosecutions. The organisation says that while Mothibi does bring a wealth of anti-corruption knowledge and experience, he was nonetheless not one of the six short-listed candidates and it would have been preferable for him to have been subjected to the same interview process as the others.

Corruption Watch notes the surprise announcement of the appointment of Adv Andy Mothibi, current SIU head, as the new national director of public prosecutions. The organisation says that while Mothibi does bring a wealth of anti-corruption knowledge and experience, he was nonetheless not one of the six short-listed candidates and it would have been preferable for him to have been subjected to the same interview process as the others.

Land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has revealed before the National Assembly that forensic audits into farmworker equity schemes are under way, with the aim of recovering funds lost to corruption and unethical practices and possibly extending the investigations into corruption. This follows years of activism and investigation by various stakeholders, including Corruption Watch.

Land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has revealed before the National Assembly that forensic audits into farmworker equity schemes are under way, with the aim of recovering funds lost to corruption and unethical practices and possibly extending the investigations into corruption. This follows years of activism and investigation by various stakeholders, including Corruption Watch.

Government embarks on audits into farm worker equity schemes

Corruption Watch, in collaboration with Social Change Assistance Trust or SCAT, and Transparency International, and co-funded by the European Union, has embarked on the Strengthening Action Against Corruption (SAAC) project which focuses specifically on empowering and educating community advice offices/civil society organisations in the Eastern Cape province. Follow our activities here.

Strengthening Action Against Corruption

Veza (a colloquial term for ‘reveal’ or ‘expose’) allows you to:
· Report incidents of police corruption and police misconduct,
· Access information on your rights when you encounter the police,
· Access information on SA's 1 150 police stations, such as locations, resources, budget and personnel,
· Locate your nearest Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit,
· And much more.

Report police corruption
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