Proposals for State Reform

A media statement from the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) announcing the August 2019 release of three position papers proposing structural reforms to South African regulatory and administrative institutions to reduce corruption and patronage.

• PARI argues that addressing 'state capture' and improving governmental institutions requires structural reforms rather than relying solely on the morality of future leaders and citizens. These reforms are intended to protect public administration from illicit political interference while addressing poverty and inequality.
• Regarding state procurement, PARI identifies the system as the primary site of state corruption. Proposed reforms include loosening rules to support good purchasing practices and black economic empowerment, while strengthening contract management through an innovative private enforcement incentive to ensure delivery and build private sector capacity.
• PARI proposes depoliticising recruitment below a specific level in local, provincial, and national government. This is viewed as a fundamental step toward stabilising institutions and reducing graft within the public procurement system, while allowing the executive to maintain control over policy direction.
• To combat the blurring of the political-administrative divide and contain corruption, PARI proposes increasing the independence of criminal justice institutions. Specifically, they suggest changing the selection and removal processes for the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and the head of the Directorate of Priority Crimes.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2019). Proposals for State Reform. https://pari.org.za/media-statement-proposals-for-state-reform-betterstate/

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Proposals for State Reform. 2019. https://pari.org.za/media-statement-proposals-for-state-reform-betterstate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Proposals for State Reform |date=13 June 2019 |url=https://pari.org.za/media-statement-proposals-for-state-reform-betterstate/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2019proposals, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Proposals for State Reform}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://pari.org.za/media-statement-proposals-for-state-reform-betterstate/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }