Gauteng province and metros the most corrupt — Corruption Watch report

Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities have been reported to be the most corrupt in 2022, while the provincial government accounts for the highest number of reported corruption cases.

Corruption Watch released their 11th annual corruption report on Tuesday showing they had received more than 2,168 complaints of alleged corruption last year.

When it comes to national and provincial government, reports of corruption in those entities showed slight similarities, with national government accounting for 28%, while provincial government accounts for 26% of allegations.

But it is local government that takes the biggest slice from the corruption pie, attributing to two-thirds of whistle-blower complaints.

The three biggest culprits are the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg and City of Ekurhuleni, accounting for 58% of reported local government incidents, said Corruption Watch executive director Karam Singh.

“The provincial breakdown also presents a familiar picture, with Gauteng counting for 36% of complaints received followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 18%. Free State was the province from which the third highest number of allegations were received, a result of community engagements conducted there during the period under review,” Singh said.

Whistle-blowing reasons have remained the same as in previous years, with most complaints relating to bad policing. Bad policing is the second most frequently reported focus area, accounting for about 11% of allegations of corruption, said Singh.

Corruption in businesses and education account for 8%, while maladministration, mismanagement of funds, fruitless and wasteful expenditure account for 25%. Fraud accounts for 17% while employment irregularities such as nepotism and favouritism account for 13%.

Bribery and extortion, including sextortion, account for 11% and dereliction of duty and procurement irregularities, including kickbacks and flouting of processes are both at 9%.

Singh said they would be increasing their work to restore justice, equality and access to constitutional and socioeconomic rights.

“This includes ramping up the pressure for transparency and accountability in the implementation of laws, appointment of leaders, procurement processes, and adherence to good governance systems, among others,” Singh said.

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