Internal affairs: do South Africa’s largest political parties effectively police corruption?

This report explores the performance of political parties in using internal systems for holding members accountable.

While South Africa’s political parties have emphasised the importance of dealing with corruption in government, less is known about their systems for dealing with graft and misconduct internally. This report explores the performance of the top three political parties – the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters – in using internal systems for holding members accountable for corruption. It argues that while adequate systems exist in theory, political considerations undermine it in practice.

About the author

Judith February is an Institute for Security Studies research consultant. She is a governance specialist, columnist and lawyer. She directed the Human Sciences Research Council’s governance unit between 2012 and 2014 and before that headed up the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa’s Political Information and Monitoring Service. February wrote Turning and Turning: Exploring the complexities of South Africa’s democracy.

Picture: Amelia Broodryk/ISS