This material belongs to: Sunday Times.
The highest levels of corruption reported occur in schools‚ representing 9.9% of the total‚ followed by corruption in the SAPS‚ which comes in at 7.6%.
The types of corruption most commonly experienced‚ according to the report‚ are bribery‚ embezzlement of funds‚ irregularities in procurement‚ and irregularities in employment.
Corruption Watch said the number of corruption complaints received in the first six months of 2017 – at 2‚744 – represents a significant 9.5% increase over the same period last year‚ pointing to a positive trend of whistleblowing around the country and a greater willingness by the public to join the fight against corruption.
Since Corruption Watch was launched in January 2012‚ over 20‚000 reports have been received from the public.
“This growing outrage at the unacceptable levels of corruption in South Africa also relates to its widening impact on the lives of ordinary people‚ particularly those who rely on publicly provided goods and services‚” the organisation said in a statement.
David Lewis‚ executive director of Corruption Watch‚ commented: “Corruption cannot be effectively tackled without an active citizenry willing to blow the whistle. Our reporting data is evidence of a courageous‚ committed and outraged public. This is a good portend for the future.”
The concern about police complaints has prompted Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies to launch a campaign focusing on the crisis in leadership within the criminal justice system‚ specifically SAPS and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks). The two organisations are currently running a survey encouraging the public to voice their opinions about the skills and attributes they would like to see in the SAPS national commissioner and the head of the Hawks.
The number of reports received tends to correlate almost directly with the population figures in each province‚ the report noted. Gauteng‚ with the highest population in the country‚ represents 37.3% of the total‚ whilst the Northern Cape‚ the most sparsely populated province‚ only makes up 1.4% of the total number of reports.
The three metropolitan municipalities yielding the largest volume of corruption reports are those of Johannesburg‚ Tshwane‚ and Cape Town. Of these three‚ only Tshwane has shown a decrease since 2016.
