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This guide, published by the Public Affairs Research Institute in August 2018, provides a framework for public service employees and departments in South Africa to report unethical conduct, corruption, and non-compliance. It outlines the legal obligations under the Public Service Regulations (PSR), 2016 and the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA), 2000, while offering practical guidance on establishing departmental reporting policies, protecting reporters from occupational detriment, and utilizing various disclosure channels.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) South Africa examines the role of taxation in state-society relations within sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on South Africa, Mozambique, and Cameroon. The authors argue that the effectiveness of a tax system depends not only on institutional design but also on the socio-political dynamics and societal perceptions that influence tax morale and voluntary compliance.

This text is a summary of a chapter by Ivor Chipkin within a larger playbook titled 'Rising to the Populist Challenge' by Dejusticia. It examines the role of civil society in South Africa in resisting the 'tyrannical' governance of the African National Congress (ANC) under former president Jacob Zuma.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the Lephalale Local Municipality's efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and build a post-apartheid city following the 2006 announcement of Eskom's Medupi coal power station project. The research analyzes how the municipality navigates historical legacies of segregation and dependence on corporations like Exxaro and Eskom amidst rapid urban expansion.

This briefing booklet details alleged systemic corruption and 'state capture' at Eskom, South Africa's primary power utility, between 2009 and 2017. It highlights how political interference in board appointments—specifically those linked to the Gupta family—led to the repurposing of governance to facilitate fraudulent procurement in coal, nuclear generators, and consulting services. Key examples include the R659 million pre-payment to Tegeta for the purchase of Optimum Coal Holdings, the irregular award of the Koeberg generator tender to Areva, and R500 million in payments to Trillian Capital Partners. The document argues that these actions resulted in billions in irregular expenditure, a qualified audit in 2017, and a severe decline in the utility's financial and operational integrity.

This report is a submission by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee into the Funding of Political Parties. It examines how the lack of regulation in private political funding and the abuse of state resources in South Africa undermine institutional capacity, foster political corruption, and enable 'state capture'.

This case study by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the institutional collapse of the Mogalakwena Local Municipality in South Africa. It argues that the municipality has entered a state of 'perpetual instability' driven by cyclical factionalism within the African National Congress (ANC) at local, regional, and provincial levels. The report details how political battles over the appointment of the Municipal Manager (MM) led to administrative rupture, the use of 'lawfare' to target rivals, and a total shutdown of services in 2014, illustrating a broader trend of institutional fragility within the South African state.

This research paper by Crispian Olver examines state capture and systemic corruption within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBM), focusing on the Human Settlements Department and the Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS). The author, who served on a national intervention team, details how political factions and private syndicates captured municipal functions to extract rents, leading to administrative collapse, financial crisis, and the murder of a councillor. The paper analyzes the subsequent 2015 intervention led by Mayor Danny Jordaan and the broader political implications for the ANC in the 2016 local elections.

This research paper by Thatshisiwe Ndlovu for the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the long-term fiscal history of Botswana, tracing its evolution from pre-colonial tribal tributes to a modern tax state. The author argues that Botswana's current fiscal capacity was shaped by a 'skeletal' colonial tax state characterized by indirect rule and negotiation with traditional leaders, which prevented the violent tax rebellions seen in other British colonies. The paper details the transition from colonial hut and poll taxes to a post-independence system heavily reliant on diamond revenues, and subsequent reforms to diversify the tax base following the 2008 global economic crisis.

A statement by 27 former Directors General of the South African government calling for an Independent Public Inquiry into 'state capture' by the Gupta family and associated companies.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) for the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) investigates the root causes of poor audit outcomes in 60 'red zone' municipalities for the 2013/14 financial year. Through qualitative research and workplace observations, the report identifies systemic failures in leadership, governance, basic administration, and capacity, concluding that current interventions often focus on surface symptoms rather than structural issues.

This research paper excerpt describes the severe socio-economic and financial challenges facing the ANC-led government of South Africa following the 1994 elections, specifically highlighting economic decline, extreme inequality, and a precarious fiscal state characterized by high borrowing and debt.

The report analyzes the crisis in South Africa's municipal water and sanitation services, finding that while infrastructure access has expanded, functional service delivery is hampered by a critical shortage of basic operational skills (e.g., plumbers, electricians). This 'hollowing out' of the local state is attributed to a historical low valuation of technical trades and 'managerialist' reforms that prioritized high-paid senior management over essential technical staff.

This research paper examines inefficiencies in the South African schooling system, specifically the contradiction between high enrolment rates beyond compulsory age and low Grade 12 completion rates. The author argues that poor education quality and flawed assessment mechanisms drive grade repetition and drop-outs, and proposes the introduction of a General Education Certificate (GET) at Grade 9 as a medium-term policy response to improve labour market signaling and vocational transitions.

This research paper analyzes the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) in South Africa as a case study of the failures associated with the adoption of New Public Management (NPM) principles. The author argues that CIPRO's vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement was not merely a result of poor leadership, but stemmed from fundamental design flaws caused by the South African government's ambivalence toward NPM—attempting to use its business-like tools while refusing to relinquish central political control.

The Public Sector Integrity Management Framework, published by the Public Affairs Research Institute in 2011, proposes a comprehensive set of measures to strengthen ethical conduct and combat corruption within the South African public service. It identifies significant implementation and policy gaps in existing regulations and outlines specific interventions regarding gift acceptance, financial disclosures, post-employment restrictions, and the appointment of ethics officers to foster public confidence in state institutions.

This research paper by Ivor Chipkin examines the conceptual and political drivers of corruption and 'state capture' in South Africa. It argues that the persistence of corruption is not merely a failure of ethics but a result of a deliberate ideological struggle over the form of the state, pitting a liberal model of a neutral bureaucracy against the African National Congress's (ANC) 'National Democratic Revolution' (NDR) and 'cadre deployment' strategies.

This research paper by Ivor Chipkin of the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) analyzes the shift toward 'tyranny' under the presidency of Jacob Zuma in South Africa. The author argues that the Zuma administration's move toward lawlessness and 'state capture' was driven by a political project called 'Radical Economic Transformation,' which viewed the South African Constitution as an obstacle to economic change. The paper details efforts to control the media, weaken state institutions, and the subsequent emergence of a rejuvenated civil-society coalition that used litigation and political mobilization to defend constitutional democracy.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute examines the Lephalale Local Municipality's efforts to transition into a post-apartheid city while grappling with a legacy of private land and infrastructure ownership. It details how the construction of the Medupi power station triggered a population boom that overwhelmed the municipality's limited capacity, leading to infrastructure failure and the growth of informal settlements. The document highlights the municipality's dependence on corporate entities like Exxaro and Eskom for basic services and the role of the Lephalale Development Forum (LDF) as a parallel, business-funded governance structure.

The Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) Sexual Harassment Policy establishes a zero-tolerance framework for sexual harassment, defining its forms, outlining reporting procedures, and specifying disciplinary actions for offenders.