AN AGENDA FOR ACTION

The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture provides a comprehensive roadmap for the South African state to address the systemic impacts of corruption. The submission focuses on five critical areas: strengthening criminal justice agencies, holding private-sector enablers accountable, reforming political party funding, protecting state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable groups. It emphasizes that state capture has caused severe human costs, including the erosion of basic rights to healthcare, education, and social security, and calls for urgent prosecutions and asset recovery to restore public trust.

• State capture has had a devastating human cost, directly undermining the Bill of Rights by compromising access to healthcare, social security, housing, and basic education.
• The criminal justice system has been systemically weakened through the manipulation of agencies, allowing high-level corruption to proliferate.
• State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been used as vehicles for grand corruption, with billions of Rands siphoned from the public purse through irregular procurement and political appointments.
• Private-sector professionals, including bankers, lawyers, accountants, and consultants, acted as essential enablers of state capture by facilitating illicit transactions and failing in due diligence.
• Current political party funding regulations in South Africa are insufficient, creating a 'toxic marriage between money and politics' that allows for undue influence by wealthy private interests.
• Whistle-blowers in South Africa face significant risks, including retaliation and intimidation, which discourages the disclosure of corruption, particularly within provincial governments.
• The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has been specifically impacted by state capture, with funds for social grants being diverted and the agency's resources used for political campaigning.

APA

Rahim, N., Mathe, Z., & van Vuuren, H. (2020). AN AGENDA FOR ACTION. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/An-Agenda-for-Action_A-Joint-Submission-_Civil-Society-Working-Group-on-State-Capture-.pdf

Chicago

Rahim, Naushina, Zen Mathe, and Hennie van Vuuren. AN AGENDA FOR ACTION. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2020. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/An-Agenda-for-Action_A-Joint-Submission-_Civil-Society-Working-Group-on-State-Capture-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rahim |first1=Naushina |last2=Mathe |first2=Zen |last3=van Vuuren |first3=Hennie |title=AN AGENDA FOR ACTION |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=February 2020 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/An-Agenda-for-Action_A-Joint-Submission-_Civil-Society-Working-Group-on-State-Capture-.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rahim2020agenda, author = {Rahim, Naushina and Mathe, Zen and van Vuuren, Hennie}, title = {{AN AGENDA FOR ACTION}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/An-Agenda-for-Action_A-Joint-Submission-_Civil-Society-Working-Group-on-State-Capture-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }