The challenges of curbing corruption in a democracy : the case of the Public Protector and Nkandla

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Corruption as a global phenomenon has remained a recurring subject in development and nationbuildingdiscussions, particularly in Africa. Across the continent, there is a growing concern aboutthe negative effect of corruption on economic development, with grave consequences for thewellbeing of citizens. The media in Africa is inundated with news of corrupt activities of publicofficials on a daily basis. Despite efforts that are being made at all levels – national, regional andinternational - corruption appears to be on the increase rather than declining.This aptly describes the situation in South Africa where, since transition to democratic governancein 1994, corruption has been one of the major problems the different administrations have had tocontend with. Since 1994, there has been the enactment and ratification of national, regional andinternational conventions, as well as the establishment of numerous institutions to address theproblem of corruption. The problem has persisted despite all these efforts. It is to this end that thisstudy seeks to understand the challenges of curbing corruption in a democratic system such asSouth Africa. To help understand these challenges, the handling of the Nkandla case by the PublicProtector has been used as a case study. The bureaucratic organisational model is employed to aidunderstanding of the prevailing governance and leadership structure in South Africa. It is arguedthat neo-patrimonialism, which best defines the existing leadership structure, engenders patronagenetworks that on one hand create the avenue for corruption and on the other, make it difficult toaddress the problem.This study argues that the patronage network of relationships that exist between the President andvarious state organs involved in the implementation and investigation of the Nkandla project gaverise to the challenges the Public Protector experienced in the course of investigating the case. Otherspecific challenges of curbing corruption that emerged include lack of political will to address theproblem, political interference in the operations of anti-corruption institutions, internal capacityconstraints and institutional framework deficiencies.The conclusion reached is that for South Africa to make progress in the fight against corruption,these issues have to be addressed. For instance, as part of the strategy to address institutionalframework deficiencies, there is a need to reconsider the suitability of a single, well-empowered andindependent anti-corruption agency, with a clearly defined mandate. Although the status of therecommendations of the Public Protector regarding the Nkandla case are soon be addressed by theConstitutional Court, it is important to still have a dedicated anti-corruption agency so as to avoidthe current problem of a multiplicity of reports and the overlap of responsibilities, which amounts topoor coordination and a waste of public resources.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University