Corruption and development

The report argues that corruption is a global phenomenon that severely impedes development by distorting public spending, undermining efficiency, and discouraging investment. It rejects the notion that corruption can foster development, asserting instead that it kills the 'development spirit'. For South Africa, the authors recommend a combination of economic liberalisation, democratic consolidation, and specific institutional reforms—including tax and procurement overhauls—driven by strong political will to ensure accountable governance.

• Corruption negatively impacts development by distorting public spending in three ways: shaping official government priorities, deflecting resources from their original purpose, and undermining the tax base.
• Corruption undermines public sector efficiency by imposing informal practices over formal government rules and procedures, which increases the direct and indirect costs of executing programmes.
• Corruption discourages investment and growth because it increases transaction costs and creates an arbitrary environment of uncertainty that deters potential investors.
• Corruption is a global phenomenon and not merely a byproduct of underdevelopment or authoritarianism; it can be an entrenched element of highly industrialised, democratic societies.
• The report rejects the argument that corruption can be 'speed money' that enhances efficiency or streamlines bureaucracy, stating there is no coherent case for corruption as a source of development.
• In South Africa, the perceived increase in corruption is partly attributed to the openness of the post-1994 democratic system, which allows for more systematic reporting by civil society and the press.
• Effective anti-corruption strategies require a 'transformed state' rather than a minimalist one, combining controlled economic liberalisation with strengthened regulatory capacity.
• Democratic consolidation in South Africa provides a framework for accountability, but the country must avoid the risk where democratisation decentralises corruption without strengthening institutional capacity.
• Tax reform to counter corruption should focus on creating simple, moderate, and uniform tax rates with few complex exemptions to facilitate practical enforcement.
• There is a critical need for new national procurement legislation in South Africa to ensure the system is competitive, fair, and equitable, and to prevent conflicts of interest.
• The success of any anti-corruption campaign depends fundamentally on the political will of leadership to set a good example and drive the process across all levels of government.

APA

Heymans, C., & Lipietz, B. (1999). Corruption and development. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono40.pdf

Chicago

Heymans, Chris, and Barbara Lipietz. Corruption and development. Institute for Security Studies, 1999. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono40.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Heymans |first1=Chris |last2=Lipietz |first2=Barbara |title=Corruption and development |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 1999 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono40.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{heymans1999corruption, author = {Heymans, Chris and Lipietz, Barbara}, title = {{Corruption and development}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1999}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono40.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }