The Case for Encouraged Whistleblowing in Public Procurement in South Africa

This policy brief by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) argues for the introduction of 'encouraged whistleblowing' (qui tam) within South Africa's public procurement system to combat widespread corruption and inefficiency. The authors propose a legal mechanism where private individuals are financially incentivized to report fraudulent claims against the state, drawing on the model of the United States' False Claims Act to recover damages and reduce the burden on under-resourced state prosecutors.

• Public procurement in South Africa, which represented 19.5 per cent of GDP in 2017, is plagued by corruption, inefficiency, and a fragmented legal framework. The system is characterized by a lack of transparency, insufficient professionalization of personnel, and a general absence of consequences for those who violate procurement rules.
• South Africa's existing oversight and criminal justice institutions are currently unable to effectively address procurement corruption due to politicization and lack of resources. In the 2020 financial year, convictions of government officials for corruption-related offences fell to 183, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit recovered only R3-million in corruption-related civil damages.
• Whistleblowers in South Africa face extreme personal and professional risks, including job loss, blacklisting, social ostracization, and physical threats to themselves and their families, despite the existence of legal protections.
• The authors propose an 'encouraged whistleblowing' mechanism based on the US False Claims Act, where whistleblowers act as original sources of information to recover damages for the state in exchange for a financial reward. In the US, this mechanism recovered $2-billion in the year ending September 2019, representing 72% of all federal recoveries for false claims, and a total of $44.7-billion since 1988.
• The proposed mechanism for South Africa would involve a private right to enforce public law, where a whistleblower is rewarded with a portion of the recovered damages. To prevent abuse, the authors suggest legislating double damages for fraud and allowing judges discretion to set rewards based on the whistleblower's conduct and the public interest.
• The brief suggests incorporating a specific section into the upcoming Public Procurement Act that allows whistleblowers to file confidential complaints in High Court. Under this proposal, whistleblowers would receive between 15% and 25% of recovered damages if the state adopts the case, or between 20% and 33.3% (one third) if the whistleblower proceeds independently.

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} }