{
  "id": 1440102,
  "title": "Under Ramaphosa, corruption thrives, while life gets harder",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/under-ramaphosa-corruption-thrives-while-life-gets-harder",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-17T06:58:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/opinion/under-ramaphosa-corruption-thrives-while-life-gets-harder/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Cyril Ramaphosa's popularity was once built on the promise that the era of state capture was over. Regrettably, the reality is quite different. While most South Africans have faced a decline in their daily lives, corruption has not only persisted but has also intensified under Ramaphosa's leadership. South Africa has failed to follow the examples of other nations, such as the United States and Britain, who conducted transparent Covid accounting which involved clear decision-making, evidence-based actions, and consequences for public health, individual rights, and the economy.\n\nRamaphosa promised that every single cent of the R500 billion pandemic package would be accounted for, with Special National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) units acting immediately to arrest those involved in corruption. However, this did not happen. On the contrary, a frenzy of corruption ensued. By 2022, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had examined 5,515 contracts worth R17.8 billion, and found irregularities in 1,316 supplier contracts and 2,965 contracts worth R8.9 billion. Almost three out of every five contracts investigated were found to be irregular.\n\nThis procurement scam exposed the depth and breadth of government entities' complicity in awarding tenders. For example, facial masks and surgical gloves were sold at prices several times higher than their usual cost. The SIU generated 456 referrals for disciplinary action against public officials, 348 for administrative action, and 476 for potential criminal action. Despite these referrals, only 12 arrests were made, resulting in only two guilty verdicts. The majority of the cases are still under investigation.\n\nHowever, the civil sector has been somewhat more successful in recovering assets. The SIU identified R566 million in cash and assets for potential recovery, but only managed to recover R36.3 million, which is significantly less than the one-sixth of each rand that had been expected.\n\nTo bring these lingering issues to light, a public accounting of all unexamined tenders and Covid criminal referrals is needed. The Madlanga commission has demonstrated that sustained public scrutiny can have a profound impact on public institutions that have grown accustomed to delay, obfuscation, and closed files. A public accounting is akin to sunlight, which proved effective in eradicating viruses during the Covid pandemic, and could be a useful tool to combat the lingering toxic residues of the pandemic.",
  "summary": "What is needed six years on is a full public accounting of all the unexamined tenders, as well as every one of those Covid criminal referrals.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}