Implications of the National Development Plan 2030 for South Africa's anti-corruption agencies

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies examines the implications of South Africa's National Development Plan 2030 (NDP) for anti-corruption agencies. It argues that achieving the NDP's vision of 'zero tolerance for corruption' requires independent leadership in agencies like the NPA and SIU, transparent appointment processes to prevent political interference, and stronger protections for whistle-blowers.

• The National Development Plan 2030 (NDP) envisions a South Africa with "zero tolerance for corruption" by 2030. To achieve this, the NDP recommends building an anti-corruption system that is "unencumbered by political interference" and ensuring that public servants are accountable and the public service is "transparent and responsive".
• To ensure the independence of anti-corruption agencies—such as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (DCPI)—the selection process for their leaders must be "transparent, fair, based on merit and non-partisan". Such a process should include representation from civic groupings, the legal fraternity, and political parties to minimize the risk of appointees being "beholden to their political overseers".
• There is evidence of political interference and a "culture of ‘no consequence’" regarding high-level corruption. Examples include the illegal withdrawal of corruption charges against former SAPS crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli and the case of former communications minister Dina Pule, where the author notes that "cabinet ministers appear to be immune from criminal sanction despite hard evidence of corrupt practices".
• The current Protected Disclosures Act (2000) is considered flawed due to the limited number of bodies authorized to receive disclosures, specifically only the Public Protector and the Auditor-General. The NDP suggests improving the "security and confidentiality of whistle-blowers", providing guarantees against liability for good-faith disclosures, and establishing a public body to monitor whistle-blowing.
• The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) conducted investigations into fraud and maladministration within the social development ministry's grant system starting in 2005, which were reported in 2007 to have saved the government approximately R7,7 billion.

APA

Tamukamoyo, H. (2014). Implications of the National Development Plan 2030 for South Africa's anti-corruption agencies. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/implications-of-the-national-development-plan-2030-for-south-africas-anti-corruption-agencies

Chicago

Tamukamoyo, Hamadziripi. Implications of the National Development Plan 2030 for South Africa's anti-corruption agencies. Institute for Security Studies, 2014. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/implications-of-the-national-development-plan-2030-for-south-africas-anti-corruption-agencies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tamukamoyo |first1=Hamadziripi |title=Implications of the National Development Plan 2030 for South Africa's anti-corruption agencies |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=14 February 2014 |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/implications-of-the-national-development-plan-2030-for-south-africas-anti-corruption-agencies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tamukamoyo2014implications, author = {Tamukamoyo, Hamadziripi}, title = {{Implications of the National Development Plan 2030 for South Africa's anti-corruption agencies}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/implications-of-the-national-development-plan-2030-for-south-africas-anti-corruption-agencies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }