The systematic corruption of SA’s ANC government

Key topics:

• ANC’s cadre deployment policy eroded state capacity and professionalism

• Zuma-era state capture looted billions and crippled key institutions

• BEE and EWC used for elite enrichment, not broad economic reform

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By Rob Hersov*  

Introduction

South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994 was hailed as one of the most remarkable political transformations of the 20th century. However, three decades later, the African National Congress (ANC) government stands accused of orchestrating one of the most comprehensive systems of institutional corruption in modern democratic history. Through its cadre deployment policy and systematic capture of state institutions, the ANC has fundamentally altered the nature of South African governance, transforming what should have been instruments of public service into tools of political patronage and personal enrichment.

I have focused on four distinct but interconnected areas where the ANC’s systematic corruption has taken root: state capture, democratic institution capture, judiciary capture, and economic capture through policies like Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC). Each represents a different facet of how a liberation movement has evolved into what critics describe as a corrupt political machine that prioritizes party loyalty over competence, personal enrichment over public service, and ideological control over democratic governance.

The Foundation: Cadre Deployment Policy

At the heart of the ANC’s systematic corruption lies its cadre deployment policy, formally implemented around 1997 [1]. This policy, which the Institute of Race Relations more accurately describes as a “cadre employment policy,” represents a fundamental violation of South Africa’s Constitution, specifically Section 197, which states that “no employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause” [1].

Cadre deployment is defined as the practice whereby a political party places its activists in positions of power within state institutions to achieve strategic and ideological goals by spreading influence across all spheres of society [1]. The ANC’s motivation for this policy is threefold: extending party power and influence over both public and private sectors, advancing the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) to transform South Africa into a socialist and then communist state, and creating a system of patronage to reward party loyalty [1].

What makes this policy particularly insidious is that it prioritizes political allegiance over competence, effectively transforming the civil service from a professional body serving the public interest into an employment scheme for ANC loyalists. As the Institute of Race Relations notes, this policy “keeps ANC cadres employed while eroding the quality of our civil service” [1]. The result has been a systematic degradation of state capacity, with crucial government departments manipulated for individual benefit rather than public service.

State Capture: The Zuma Era and Beyond

The most dramatic manifestation of the ANC’s systematic corruption occurred during the presidency of Jacob Zuma (2009-2018), a period now synonymous with “state capture.” The term describes a form of systemic political corruption where private interests significantly influence a state’s decision-making processes to their own advantage [2]. The Zondo Commission, which investigated this period from 2018 to 2022, produced over 5,000 pages of forensic detail documenting how “almost every arm of the state was suffocated and left bankrupt by ANC leaders” [2].

The commission’s findings revealed that the wealthy Gupta brothers—Ajay, Rajesh, and Atul—orchestrated widespread corruption with Zuma’s direct assistance [2]. Zuma’s son, Duduzane, served as the “conduit between the Guptas and government,” facilitating the awarding of government contracts to Gupta-linked companies [2]. Perhaps most damaging was the revelation that Zuma colluded with former spy chief Arthur Fraser to halt investigations into the Gupta family in 2011, effectively paving the way for systematic looting of state resources [2].

The scope of institutional damage was breathtaking. The commission documented how state capture crippled the South African Revenue Service, brought the national carrier South African Airways to its knees, facilitated the looting of the passenger railway agency, interfered with the public broadcaster SABC, and weakened the secret service through strategic appointments that prevented investigations [2]. As Chief Justice Raymond Zondo concluded, “The ANC under Zuma permitted, supported and enabled corruption,” with the “blurring of lines between the ANC and the state” laid bare [2].

The timeline of state capture became visible to the public around 2013, when Zuma allowed the Gupta brothers to land a commercial plane at a military base for a wedding—a clear breach of national security [2]. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s 2016 report detailed the connections between the Guptas and government, leading to the establishment of the judicial commission [2]. However, the damage was already extensive, with billions of dollars looted from state coffers that should have supported South Africa’s health service and education system [2].