Here’s how to find R500bn, OUTA tells Finance Minister

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) notes with concern the statements made by Minister Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group on Monday 3 March 2025, where he spoke on the need for ethical leadership, financial controls, and accountability in the fight against corruption. While his words ring true in principle, they bear little resemblance to the reality of governance in South Africa.

Minister Buthelezi rightly pointed out that corruption thrives in environments where ethical leadership is absent, financial controls are weak, and accountability is lacking. Unfortunately, this is precisely the environment that has been cultivated by our government over the past 15 years or so. The sad reality is that our authorities speak so eloquently on global platforms about tackling corruption, yet they preside over a system riddled with mismanagement, looting, a lack of consequences for wrongdoing and are doing very little to address this dire situation.

Making matters worse, instead of tackling the high levels of wasteful expenditure and gross maladministration – the very environment that breeds our high levels of corruption in South Africa – the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, deems it necessary to turn on citizens to cough up more in taxes, to fund this grossly inefficient government. 

If the South African government was serious about fighting corruption, we would see tangible actions, not just well-crafted speeches. We would see high-profile arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of those who have plundered state resources. We would see more incidents of recovery of stolen funds, the strengthening of public institutions and the criminal justice system, along with the implementation of robust financial controls. Instead, we continue to witness political interference, delayed justice, and a lack of accountability against those implicated in corruption.

South Africans are tired of the kind of rhetoric presented at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group. What we need is decisive action. It is time for the government to align its words with deeds and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to eradicating corruption and maladministration, not just when addressing the international community, but where it matters most – at home.

Accordingly, OUTA wrote to Minister Godongwana on 3 March, listing alternative actions that he and the Cabinet should be addressing, before government turns to its citizens for more taxes and increases in VAT.

In OUTA’s letter to the Minister, we have highlighted 11 areas which, if tackled with the serious intent we expect of government, could lead to National Treasury’s coffers being realistically improved by approximately R500 billion per annum. 

We believe it is high time our government takes heed of civil society’s calls for a significant shift in its approach to managing our country’s resources. We demand nothing less than prudent financial hygiene, good governance, ethical leadership, transparency and accountability. We trust this approach will shine through in Minister Godongwana’s revised Budget 2025 speech on 12 March.

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