And the award for South Africa’s most corrupt province goes to…
This province beats all provinces by a landslide in the corruption olympics!
South Africa loves a good ranking, from the best bunnies in Durban to who’s got the worst potholes.
Sadly, this latest leaderboard from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) isn’t one to celebrate.
Which SA province is the most corrupt?
According to Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, South Africa’s most corrupt province has officially been crowned as…
…KwaZulu-Natal!!
Sadly, there’s no trophy or cash incentive.
Why is KZN the most corrupt province?
Since 2020, the SIU has tracked every single local government corruption case across the country and the stats paint a pretty grim picture:
- KwaZulu-Natal tops the list with 170 investigations, and only 46 have been resolved.
- Mpumalanga comes in second with 39 investigations, and 24 resolved.
- Northern Cape: 30 investigations, 0 resolved (ouch).
- Eastern Cape: 20 investigations, 1 resolved.
- Gauteng: 4 investigations, 3 resolved (clearly, they got the memo).
So yes, KZN is leading the pack, but for all the wrong reasons.
What is the government saying?
Minister Hlabisa says his department takes these allegations seriously.
He assured Parliament that new measures are being introduced to ensure cooperation with provincial governments so that corruption cases are “promptly attended to.”
When he was pressed on why his department hasn’t teamed up with the Public Service Commission (PSC) (the guys who handle lifestyle audits), Hlabisa’s answer was… well, diplomatic.
He said it’s up to mayors and councils to act first when corruption is reported.
That sounds a bit like saying: “Yes, we see the fire, but technically, it’s your building.”
Why does this matter?
Corruption isn’t just a political issue, it’s a pothole, a broken streetlight, an empty water tank, and a hospital without supplies.
When accountability takes years instead of weeks, the real cost isn’t numbers in a report… it’s public trust circling the drain.
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