Independent Assessment for the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council of the 60 Presidential Commitments to implement the State Capture Commission Recommendations

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), commissioned by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC), provides an independent assessment of the South African government's progress in implementing 60 presidential commitments made in response to the State Capture Commission (SCC) recommendations. The assessment evaluates progress across individual accountability and systemic institutional and policy reforms, highlighting significant delays in legislative updates and a persistent lack of accountability for members of the Executive.

• As of March 2025, the 'Integrated Task Force' reported on 218 SCC recommendations: 10 cases were finalised, 35 are enrolled or partially finalised, 111 are under active investigation, 9 are delayed but proceeding, 35 are stalled due to external dependencies (such as extradition requests for the Gupta brothers), and 17 have not been initiated or authorised.
• Substantial progress has been made in asset recovery, with the SIU and AFU recovering R10.9 billion as of March 2025, while assets under restraint or preservation orders total R10.6 billion. Additionally, SARS recovered R4.8 billion in unpaid taxes from individuals named in the SCC report.
• No members of the Executive have been removed based on the SCC recommendations, despite public demand for accountability. The President has maintained that action will be informed by law enforcement outcomes, which the report describes as an inappropriate delay given other available constitutional and ethical accountability mechanisms.
• The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has established the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) as a permanent entity via the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Act of 2024. However, the NPA still lacks full financial and operational independence, and the process for a transparent appointment of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has been delayed.
• The government has failed to publicly release NACAC's research and proposals regarding the redesign of South Africa's anti-corruption architecture, despite the President's 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) indicating the Minister of Justice would report on the matter.
• South Africa is on track to be removed from the FATF grey list by October 2025 following the implementation of the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act of 2022, which introduced a central Beneficial Ownership Register.
• The process to amend the SARS Act to ensure an open and competitive appointment process for the Commissioner has been delayed by over two years, missing a promised June 2023 deadline, with Cabinet approval now sought for December 2025.
• The Public Procurement Act (PPA) of 2024 addresses several SCC recommendations by enhancing transparency, prohibiting interference in procurement, and strengthening supplier debarment. However, it does not include the SCC's proposal for incentivised whistleblowing, and the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) remains under-resourced.
• The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act (GILAA) of 2025 aims to disestablish the State Security Agency (SSA) and create separate foreign and domestic intelligence services. However, the Act has not yet commenced, and high-profile figures implicated in the SCC report remain unaccountable.
• Legislative reform for whistleblower protection has faced profound delays. A draft Whistleblower Protections Bill promised in the 2025 SONA for the 2024/25 financial year was not introduced by March 2025.
• Efforts to professionalise the public administration include the Public Service Amendment Bill and the PSC Bill, which aim to depoliticise appointments and delineate roles between executive authorities and accounting officers. However, these are viewed as partial implementations of the promised reforms.
• The Auditor-General (AG) has seen a positive impact on accountability through the 2018 Public Audit Act amendments regarding 'material irregularities,' which allow the AG to issue certificates of debt to recover losses.
• The National State Enterprises Bill proposes a centralized holding company (State Asset Management SOC Ltd) to govern large SOEs. The report notes that the Bill does not specify appointment processes for subsidiary SOEs or for the thousands of smaller public entities.
• The Political Funding Act (PFA) was amended to criminalise donations made with the expectation of influencing government decisions. However, the National Assembly's May 2025 vote to double disclosure thresholds and donation caps is seen as a move that significantly weakens the Act's transparency.
• Parliamentary oversight remains a concern; while a committee to oversee the Presidency is being developed, the Rules Committee rejected many SCC recommendations, claiming existing powers were sufficient despite the systemic failures that allowed state capture to occur.

APA

Meny-Gibert, S., Pillay, D., & Pienaar, G. (2025). Independent Assessment for the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council of the 60 Presidential Commitments to implement the State Capture Commission Recommendations. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ncac-5.pdf

Chicago

Meny-Gibert, Sarah, Devi Pillay, and Gary Pienaar. Independent Assessment for the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council of the 60 Presidential Commitments to implement the State Capture Commission Recommendations. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2025. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ncac-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meny-Gibert |first1=Sarah |last2=Pillay |first2=Devi |last3=Pienaar |first3=Gary |title=Independent Assessment for the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council of the 60 Presidential Commitments to implement the State Capture Commission Recommendations |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=August 2025 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ncac-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{menygibert2025independent, author = {Meny-Gibert, Sarah and Pillay, Devi and Pienaar, Gary}, title = {{Independent Assessment for the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council of the 60 Presidential Commitments to implement the State Capture Commission Recommendations}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ncac-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }