Every bribe accepted, every tender rigged, and every conflict of interest hidden by a Member of Parliament has a direct, devastating human cost.
Image: Matthew Jordaan/Independent Media
THE Active Citizens’ Movement (ACM) recently made a submission to Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests on the proposed amendments to the Ethics Code for parliamentarians. It argued that the body tasked with acting as the nation's ultimate watchdog remains a toothless bulldog.
For over a decade, citizens watched the state being systematically plundered, a tragedy catalogued in agonising detail by the Zondo Commission. By treating deep, systemic corruption as a minor administrative issue rather than a national crisis, Parliament has actively betrayed its constitutional mandate by allowing a compromised political elite to get away with looting the public purse. The proposed amendments will not change that.
Instead of a robust watchdog role ensuring accountability of executive organs and oversight over the cabinet, Parliament has morphed into a shield for abuse by the executive and members. Parliamentary structures frequently rely on superficial tick-box compliance and routine paperwork updates to create an illusion of integrity.
This systemic failure was graphically exposed by the Zondo Commission and the ongoing Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Political collusion, the infiltration of the criminal justice system, and the blatant abuse of oversight powers continue to protect elite interests. When such committees protect compromised politicians instead of exposing them, they cease to be public servants. They become active facilitators of state plunder.
Former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has expressed grave concern over the apparent lack of progress in implementing anti-corruption reforms noting, in May 2025, that he remains unconvinced Parliament has taken meaningful steps to ensure accountability and prevent the recurrence of large-scale corruption.
The financial and social wreckage of this ethical breakdown is staggering. Corruption in South Africa is not a victimless white-collar crime. It is a direct assault on the country's most vulnerable citizens. Every bribe accepted, every tender rigged, and every conflict of interest hidden by a Member of Parliament has a direct, devastating human cost.
- Collapsed public infrastructure: billions of rand meant for railway maintenance, reliable electricity grids, and clean water systems have been diverted into private offshore accounts and luxury lifestyles.
- A broken healthcare system: public hospitals lack basic medicines, life-saving equipment, and adequate medical staff because procurement budgets are systematically looted.
- Erosion of democratic trust: when citizens see politicians violating ethical codes with absolute impunity, faith in democratic institutions dissolves, creating a dangerous breeding ground for lawlessness and social instability.
The Zondo Commission found that Parliament's failure was systemic and institutional, not merely individual lapses. Party-political considerations routinely undermined constitutional obligations, with members risking their positions if they departed from party positions. This creates a fundamental conflict: how can the public have confidence in executive oversight when the individual’s conducting oversight abandon their oath to be faithful to the Constitution?
The ACM's analysis identifies critical weaknesses in the current ethical framework. There are no enforceable requirements for members to disclose criminal charges against them or adverse findings from commissions.
There are no rules governing the "revolving door" phenomenon, where former members walk out of Parliament on a Friday and sign lucrative consulting deals on a Monday with the very entities that benefited from state contracts during their tenure.
There is no safeguard against members using their families as proxies. Benefits are routinely channelled away from Members to their spouses, children, dependents or connected individuals.
Most fundamentally, ethics enforcement is conducted internally by fellow politicians, a peer-review trap that invites political horse-trading and weak, symbolic sanctions. Members have been known to simply resign from Parliament in order to kill an investigation.
South Africa cannot survive another decade of superficial oversight. The landmark Nkandla Constitutional Court judgment confirmed that Parliament cannot simply ignore its obligations to hold the executive accountable. To restore international and domestic trust, South Africa must enact not cosmetic, but radical structural changes to the ethical framework.
An Independent Ethical Framework: Oversight bodies can no longer be governed by politicians grading their own homework. The ACM proposes establishing an independent Parliamentary Ethics Ombud with full investigative and enforcement powers, an autonomous office removing political bias from investigations.
- Legally enforceable mandates: ethics committees must possess real punitive teeth, including the power to strip corrupt officials of their seats, initiate asset forfeitures, and mandate immediate criminal prosecutions. Sanctions should include mandatory suspension without pay, financial clawbacks, and direct criminal referrals.
- Absolute transparency: financial disclosures, conflicts of interest, and committee deliberations must be fully open to public and judicial scrutiny. A publicly accessible register detailing the monetary value of interests is essential to eliminate secrecy over improper conduct.
- A three-year cooling-off period: former members must be barred from joining entities that won state tenders during their tenure. This measure would go a long way to prevent regulatory capture.
South Africa stands at a critical juncture. The ongoing revelations of the Madlanga Commission serve as a stark reminder that the machinery of corruption is highly adaptable. If Parliament continues to rely on minor administrative updates to the code, and members close ranks to protect their corrupt party colleagues, it remains complicit in the ongoing theft of the nation's future.
The Human Sciences Research Council, which tracks the implementation of the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, reports that progress has been uneven at best. Government's response plan contained some timeframes and promised regular progress reports, but Parliament's response contained neither.
The Public Procurement Bill, tabled in June 2023, failed to implement the commission's recommendation for an independent Public Procurement Anti-Corruption Agency. Instead, it has proposed a Procurement Office within National Treasury, an arrangement that perpetuates the very weaknesses identified by the Commission.
Without fundamental changes to the code, the democratic project risks collapsing under the weight of unfettered and unpunished greed.
The ACM has offered to collaborate with Parliament in devising an effective ethical code to help achieve a better life for ALL, not just a privileged few.
The devastating cost of political corruption
The financial and social wreckage of this ethical breakdown is staggering. Corruption in South Africa is not a victimless white-collar crime. It is a direct assault on the country's most vulnerable citizens. Every bribe accepted, every tender rigged, and every conflict of interest hidden by a Member of Parliament has a direct, devastating human cost.
- Collapsed public infrastructure: billions of rand meant for railway maintenance, reliable electricity grids, and clean water systems have been diverted into private offshore accounts and luxury lifestyles.
- A broken healthcare system: public hospitals lack basic medicines, life-saving equipment, and adequate medical staff because procurement budgets are systematically looted.
- Erosion of democratic trust: when citizens see politicians violating ethical codes with absolute impunity, faith in democratic institutions dissolves, creating a dangerous breeding ground for lawlessness and social instability.
The Zondo Commission found that Parliament's failure was systemic and institutional, not merely individual lapses. Party-political considerations routinely undermined constitutional obligations, with members risking their positions if they departed from party positions. This creates a fundamental conflict: how can the public have confidence in executive oversight when the individual’s conducting oversight abandon their oath to be faithful to the Constitution?
The ACM's analysis identifies critical weaknesses in the current ethical framework. There are no enforceable requirements for members to disclose criminal charges against them or adverse findings from commissions.
There are no rules governing the "revolving door" phenomenon, where former members walk out of Parliament on a Friday and sign lucrative consulting deals on a Monday with the very entities that benefited from state contracts during their tenure.
There is no safeguard against members using their families as proxies. Benefits are routinely channelled away from Members to their spouses, children, dependents or connected individuals.
Most fundamentally, ethics enforcement is conducted internally by fellow politicians, a peer-review trap that invites political horse-trading and weak, symbolic sanctions. Members have been known to simply resign from Parliament in order to kill an investigation.
South Africa cannot survive another decade of superficial oversight. The landmark Nkandla Constitutional Court judgment confirmed that Parliament cannot simply ignore its obligations to hold the executive accountable. To restore international and domestic trust, South Africa must enact not cosmetic, but radical structural changes to the ethical framework.
An Independent Ethical Framework: Oversight bodies can no longer be governed by politicians grading their own homework. The ACM proposes establishing an independent Parliamentary Ethics Ombud with full investigative and enforcement powers, an autonomous office removing political bias from investigations.
- Legally enforceable mandates: ethics committees must possess real punitive teeth, including the power to strip corrupt officials of their seats, initiate asset forfeitures, and mandate immediate criminal prosecutions. Sanctions should include mandatory suspension without pay, financial clawbacks, and direct criminal referrals.
- Absolute transparency: financial disclosures, conflicts of interest, and committee deliberations must be fully open to public and judicial scrutiny. A publicly accessible register detailing the monetary value of interests is essential to eliminate secrecy over improper conduct.
- A three-year cooling-off period: former members must be barred from joining entities that won state tenders during their tenure. This measure would go a long way to prevent regulatory capture.
South Africa stands at a critical juncture. The ongoing revelations of the Madlanga Commission serve as a stark reminder that the machinery of corruption is highly adaptable. If Parliament continues to rely on minor administrative updates to the code, and members close ranks to protect their corrupt party colleagues, it remains complicit in the ongoing theft of the nation's future.
The Human Sciences Research Council, which tracks the implementation of the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, reports that progress has been uneven at best. Government's response plan contained some timeframes and promised regular progress reports, but Parliament's response contained neither.
The Public Procurement Bill, tabled in June 2023, failed to implement the commission's recommendation for an independent Public Procurement Anti-Corruption Agency. Instead, it has proposed a Procurement Office within National Treasury, an arrangement that perpetuates the very weaknesses identified by the Commission.
Without fundamental changes to the code, the democratic project risks collapsing under the weight of unfettered and unpunished greed.
The ACM has offered to collaborate with Parliament in devising an effective ethical code to help achieve a better life for ALL, not just a privileged few.
Neven Hendricks, is a member of ACM. Besides being a business professional, he campaigns fiercely against the partisan protection and parliamentary decay that shields a compromised political elite at the expense of the public.
Koogan Pillay, is a member of ACM and a governance and human rights advocate
Pops Rampersad is an executive committee member of ACM and a social justice and human rights activist
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.