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By Thapelo Molefe
Poor communities in South Africa are facing the highest levels of corruption from local public officials, deepening inequality and weakening trust in government, according to new research released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Thursday.
The study, titled Corruption and Behaviour Change: Tracking Social Norms and Values in South Africa, shows that in many disadvantaged neighbourhoods, bribery, nepotism and even sexual extortion have become part of everyday life.
“Economic disadvantage significantly increased the likelihood of living in a community characterised by public sector corruption,” the research noted.
The report highlights how residents in poorer areas are more likely to encounter corrupt officials when trying to access basic services or government benefits. Many respondents told researchers that it has become normal for public officials to demand something in return for doing their job.
“Many adults reported living in communities where public officials engage in bribery, nepotism and sexual extortion,” the study found.
The findings are based on the 2025 South African Social Attitudes Survey, which interviewed more than 3,000 people nationwide. The HSRC said its data shows that corruption does not affect all South Africans equally. Instead, it preys most heavily on those with the least power and the fewest resources.
To illustrate this reality, the survey measured experiences of three types of corruption at community level. For bribery, 44% said it never happens, while 53% reported that it does happen to some degree. For nepotism, public officials giving jobs or contracts to unqualified friends or relatives, 39% said it never happens, compared to 51% who said it occurs. The remaining percentages in each case reflect respondents who said they don’t know or that the question was not applicable to them.
Reports of sexual extortion showed that 46% said it never happens, while 54% said it happens, even if only occasionally.
“About a tenth of the public reported living in communities where such corruption is said to be a very common occurrence,” the report observed.
The report describes this as a “stark indictment of local governance,” warning that corruption entrenches poverty by blocking fair access to services and opportunities. Poor families often have no choice but to comply because they depend heavily on government for housing, healthcare, social grants and employment opportunities.
Workplace corruption also adds to inequality. Nearly half of employed adults said corrupt behaviour occurs in their professions, including bending rules to help friends or demanding bribes.
For example, 56% said workers in their occupation never demand bribes, while 41% said such demands do occur. On the question of workers paying bribes, 54% said it never happens, while 43% said it does. Rule-bending for personal gain showed 49% saying it never happens, against 49% saying it occurs. Bending rules to favour friends or family revealed 46% saying it never happens, while 51% said it does.
“Nearly half of employed adults reported instances of rule-bending to benefit friends or family,” the HSRC explained.
The study said corruption flourishes partly because people doubt that authorities will act if cases are reported. Although the willingness to report corruption has grown since 2023, many still hesitate because they fear nothing will happen.
“One-fifth said that such action was ‘not at all likely’,” the study highlighted.
The results also reveal deep divisions over whether South Africans should report corrupt behaviour by people they know. Some believe it is wrong to report a family member or neighbour, while others see reporting as necessary.
These “codes of silence,” the report warns, make it even harder to fight corruption in poor communities, where people often live close together and rely on one another for survival.
Despite the challenges, the HSRC says there is a growing public appetite to confront corruption. The report argues that strengthening whistleblower protections and ensuring consistent punishment for wrongdoing could help rebuild trust.
It also urges the government to consider how poverty and inequality shape people’s exposure to corruption.
“Policymakers must also recognise the role played by economic disadvantage, and design interventions that take these inequalities into account,” the study said.
The HSRC says the findings should guide efforts under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which seeks to build a society that rejects corruption in all its forms. But until corruption is tackled at the ground level, where poor residents face it most, South Africa’s inequality crisis will only deepen.
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