Political Risk:
Moderate
Score:
60/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
50/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
View Question
While Parliament’s two defence committees are required to approve and vote on the Department of Defence’s annual budget, in practice scrutiny of items within…
Explore
Parliament’s two defence committees do on occasion review and attempt to influence defence policy, but those instances are rare and limited in scope [1].…
Explore
There is no overt pressure from the executive or military to vote in specific ways. However, as Parliament and its constituent committees are dominated…
Explore
Q2
50/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
View Question
Oversight committees concerned with defence and security include: – The National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, which provides oversight of the…
Explore
All three committees are made up of parliamentary representatives, who are rarely in possession of direct military or defence sector experience; or even links…
Explore
The Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) has been subject to criticism relating to the slow pace at which it was formed (it was…
Explore
The JSCD has been criticised as being inconsistent in its operations. For example: “A meeting of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) set…
Explore
The (various) investigations into the ‘Arms Deal’, the 1998 Strategic Defence Procurement Package (SDPP) [1] serves as the most prominent evidence of parliamentary oversight…
Explore
There is little to no evidence of specific JSCD recommendations being directly incorporated into practice by government ministries. Committee meetings appear to predominantly consist…
Explore
Q3
75/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
View Question
The South African Defence Review 2012 was undertaken by a committee that included a public participation programme that engaged with key stakeholder organisations and…
Explore
Debate on the Defence Review was undertaken at a relatively sophisticated level in some instances, including seminars and conferences held with academic and stakeholder…
Explore
Parliamentary oversight committees regularly hold public consultations on defence policy. The 2012~2014 Defence Review has not been replaced by a new process [1]. There…
Explore
Documents for the Defence Review were made available to the public during the public participation programme [1]. The subsequent 2014 draft of the Defence…
Explore
Q4
42/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
View Question
There is no evidence of a formal policy requiring openness towards defence sector civil society organizations (CSOs).
Explore
CSOs are protected from government interference, and are, in terms of legislation, able to operate openly and without intimidation from the government. These protections…
Explore
CSOs played a prominent role in agitating for investigations into allegations of corruption relating to the 1999 ‘Arms Deal’. This prominent example of CSO…
Explore
Q5
88/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
View Question
Q6
75/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
View Question
There are regular multi-platform debates on defence issues. Although some coverage is superficial, there are instances where defence issues, particularly that of procurement and…
Explore
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and Department of Defence (DoD) regularly issue press releases, host media briefings and engage with the public…
Explore
Q7
100/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
View Question
At the national level, the National Development Plan, Vision 2030 identifies countering corruption as a priority [1]. Anti-corruption measures within the DoD tie into…
Explore
The DoD anti-fraud and corruption initiative, is managed through the DoD Anti-Corruption Nodal Point Forum where information is exchanged between DACAF and DoD Services…
Explore
Q8
63/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
View Question
External institutions mandated to counter corruption, and to a less clearly-defined extent, build integrity, that addresses the defence and security sectors include: – Public…
Explore
In terms of the DACAF, it is unclear to what extent the DoD command structure exerts, or can exert influence over anti-corruption efforts. The…
Explore
It is unclear whether or to what extent staff within anti-corruption institutions or units are aware of corruption risks within their respective institutions or…
Explore
Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
View Question
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. General perceptions of corruption levels, and trust levels of public institutions is low in…
Explore
Q10
75/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
View Question
The Department of Defence (DoD) exercises risk management activities, guided by the 2013 “Policy, Process and Procedures for Risk Management in the Department of…
Explore
The Department of Defence appears to conduct an evaluation of risks on at least an annual basis – but the reported detail on the…
Explore
A section on DoD Enterprise Risk Management and Mitigation for FY2017/18 details specific risks and mitigation measures undertaken with regards to fraud and corruption.…
Explore
Defence Budgets
Q11
75/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
View Question
Acquisitions within the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are separated into two broad categories: Category 1 matériel (military equipment & associated parts which…
Explore
Whereas the laws, regulations, and tender documents for Category 2 items are public, many aspects of Category 1 acquisition are hidden from public scrutiny.…
Explore
All SANDF acquisition and procurement spending is overseen both by the DoD Secretariat (including the Accountability Management Committee (AMC), Risk Management Committee and Audit…
Explore
Q12
88/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
View Question
The Defence Budget is publically available, in detail, through the National Treasury and the Department of Defence (DoD) Press working in Parliament are often…
Explore
Ministries present their budget “wish lists” from as early as February the year before, with the budget formalised by December [1]. In that process,…
Explore
Q13
63/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
View Question
The review of the annual defence budget is given to the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans. As per section 5 of the…
Explore
Despite its powers, the Parliamentary Committee Defence & Military Veterans (PCDMV) seldom uses them to provide effective oversight in committee. Several committee members instead…
Explore
Q14
67/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
View Question
The defence budget is published proactively on the National Treasury website [1]. There are some accompanying explanations included in the budget document, but not…
Explore
All defence spending is disclosed by programme, sub-programme, and type in the DoD Annual Report, usually with substantial detail [1]. Allocations for armament acquisitions…
Explore
While the publicly provided budget information is substantial [1], requests for more detailed information on items regarded as sensitive are routinely denied. For instance,…
Explore
Q15
58/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
View Question
The Department of Defence (DoD) Annual Report contains summaries of all receipts in the preceding financial year, but no information is released as to…
Explore
The Department of Defence’s accounts are scrutinised by the Office of the Auditor-General [1]. Although there is an internal audit unit within the DoD,…
Explore
Public scrutiny of departmental income from other sources is exceedingly rare, and even when it occurs is usually focused more on the nature of…
Explore
Q16
31/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
View Question
The Department of Defence Internal Audit Division (IAD) is tasked with “adding value by improving operations and reviewing different activities as a management control…
Explore
From the research undertaken, it does not appear that IAD functions are made available for external overisight.
Explore
Internal audit reports appear to be subject to analysis by the Audit Committee, within the DoD, but are not then passed on for external…
Explore
The IAD reported that ‘management’ agreed to 90 out of the 119 recommendations made to address the internal control gaps identified in audit reports…
Explore
Q17
75/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
View Question
The auditor-general (AG) conducts an annual audit of the Department of Defence (DoD), in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act of South Africa,…
Explore
The AG is wholly independent from the Defence Ministry. The AG is overseen by the Standing Committee on Auditor-General (SCoAG) which is empowered by…
Explore
The AG’s audit findings are published as part of the annual Department of Defence Report. They are then submitted to the National Assembly through…
Explore
The auditor-general has repeatedly issued qualified audits to the Department of Defence, citing a range of financial oversight and reporting failures [1, 2, 3].…
Explore
Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
67/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
View Question
The Department of Defence (DoD) does not own any commercial businesses or interest however, the Public Finance Management Act does not explicitly prohibit the…
Explore
The DoD does not own any commercial businesses or interests. The Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor) is a state-owned company (SOC) established by…
Explore
There are no reported cases of individual defence personnel having involvement in businesses related to natural resource exploitation.
Explore
The DoD does not own any commercial businesses or interests. As noted in 18A, there is no evidence of defence institutions having involvement in…
Explore
The DoD does not own any commercial businesses or interests. As noted in 18A, there is no evidence of defence institutions having involvement in…
Explore
Organised Crime
Q19
63/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
View Question
There is a very low to moderate likelihood of penetration by organised crime in the defence and security sector. The nature of security measures…
Explore
It can be reasonably expected that the South African government and SANDF command structures are aware of the possibility of organised criminal activity within…
Explore
Q20
67/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
View Question
The South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) Military Police Division provides a range of internal policing services, predominantly focused on security matters (VIP protection…
Explore
Both the Military Police (and DACAF), and SAPS DPCI face budgetary constraints stemming from national budgetary difficulties. There is no clear evidence of undue…
Explore
The Chief of the SANDF, General Solly Shoke, has made the “elimination” of corruption one of his stated objectives [1]. In 2018, the DACAF…
Explore
Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
25/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
View Question
The Intelligence Services Control Act 40 of 1994 empowers a Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) to perform the oversight function concerning the intelligence…
Explore
The Auditor-General automatically gives a qualified audit opinion of the SSA (State Security Agency) due to the inability to reveal financial, procurement, or performance…
Explore
Q22
25/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
View Question
The Intelligence Services Regulations are found in section 37 of the Intelligence Services Act and stipulate that all agency positions must be advertised and…
Explore
The High Level Review Panel Report on the State Security Agency identified substantial politicisation of the intelligence services. Importantly, the review panel highlighted that…
Explore
Details on vetting processes are not publicly available. It is, however, apparent in the findings of the High Level Review Panel, that the politicisation…
Explore
Export Controls
Q23
67/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
View Question
South Africa has signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty [1].
Explore
South Africa has signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty and is recorded by the Arms Trade Treaty Baseline Assessment Project as being in…
Explore
While arms exports, in general, are debated each time the National Committee on Conventional Arms Control (NCACC) reports to Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on…
Explore
Lobbying in Defence
South Africa has no legislative framework for regulating lobbying activity. Formal ‘lobbying’ as it is recognised elsewhere in the world, is not a prevalent…
Explore
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ because the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector.
Explore
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ because the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector.
Explore
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ because the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector.
Explore