The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa

The policy brief addresses the systemic corruption and lack of enforcement in South African public procurement, which accounted for 19.5% of GDP in 2017. It highlights the failure of existing oversight bodies, noting that corruption-related convictions of government officials declined to 183 in the 2020 financial year. To address this, the authors propose a 'qui tam' or encouraged whistleblowing system where private individuals are incentivized with a percentage of recovered damages to report fraudulent claims. This model, which recovered $44.7-billion for the US federal government since 1988, is suggested as a way to empower citizens and reduce the burden on under-resourced state prosecutors. The brief provides a specific legislative framework to be inserted into the Public Procurement Act, including provisions for double damages and tiered rewards for whistleblowers depending on whether the state adopts the legal action.

• South African public procurement is characterized by systemic inefficiency and corruption, with a legal framework that is too fragmented, complicated, and sometimes self-contradictory.
• Existing oversight and criminal justice institutions in South Africa are insufficient to tackle corruption, evidenced by a decline in convictions and low civil recoveries.
• Whistleblowers in South Africa face severe personal and professional risks, including job loss, blacklisting, and physical threats to themselves and their families.
• The 'encouraged whistleblowing' (qui tam) model used in the United States is highly effective, recovering $2-billion in the year ending September 2019, representing 72% of all federal recoveries for false claims.
• The proposed mechanism for South Africa involves a private right to enforce public law, where whistleblowers are rewarded with a portion of recovered damages, potentially enhanced by legislating double damages for fraud.
• The authors propose a specific legislative addition to the Public Procurement Act that would allow whistleblowers to file confidential complaints and receive between 15% and 33% of recovered damages depending on state involvement.

APA

Brunette, R., & Klaaren, J. (2020). The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20201105_PolicyBrief_EncouragedWhistleblowingWithCitation.pdf

Chicago

Brunette, R., and J. Klaaren. The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2020. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20201105_PolicyBrief_EncouragedWhistleblowingWithCitation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brunette |first1=R. |last2=Klaaren |first2=J. |title=The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=November 2020 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20201105_PolicyBrief_EncouragedWhistleblowingWithCitation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brunette2020case, author = {Brunette, R. and Klaaren, J.}, title = {{The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/20201105_PolicyBrief_EncouragedWhistleblowingWithCitation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }