Independent oversight urged as corruption deepens in municipalities

CORRUPTION casts a long shadow over South Africa’s municipal governance, undermining service delivery and leaving communities that rely on water, sanitation, and electricity to bear the brunt of misused funds.

- THABO MAKWAKWA

As watchdogs and analysts warn, the rot begins at the top and filters down to the street level, where residents seek basic essentials. A string of reports over the past year has underscored the severity of the problem. In August last year, Duja Consulting released a report titled “The Pressing Issue of Corruption in South African Municipalities”

It argued that corrupt officials may demand kickbacks or artificially inflate contract prices to enrich themselves, driving up costs for municipalities and, by extension, taxpayers and ratepayers.

The report cautioned that a forensic approach to addressing corruption is essential. Such an approach, it said, is needed to uncover and rectify misuses of resources and ensure that money earmarked for essential services reaches the people who need it.

Corruption Watch (CW) has consistently highlighted the problem's local government dimension.