Corruption Perceptions Index: South Africa's unchanged score raises governance concerns

South Africa has made no progress in improving perceptions of public-sector corruption over the past year, according to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a stagnation analysts say continues to shape governance risks for Cape Town and the Western Cape.

The CPI, released this week by Transparency International, gives South Africa a score of 41 out of 100, unchanged from its 2024 score and still below the global average of 42, which itself declined for the first time in more than a decade.

The index measures perceptions of public-sector corruption, not proven or reported cases, drawing on 13 independent expert and business surveys across 182 countries and territories. Scores range from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), with results below 50 regarded as signalling serious corruption challenges.

Although the CPI does not provide separate scores for provinces or cities, governance experts say the unchanged national result remains relevant for the Western Cape, where provincial and municipal authorities are responsible for large public budgets, infrastructure programmes and procurement processes.

In Cape Town, governance issues have remained under scrutiny amid ongoing public debate over housing delivery, infrastructure maintenance and procurement oversight. The City provides services to more than 4.8 million residents, with multibillion-rand operating and capital budgets each year.

A comparison of the 2024 and 2025 CPI reports shows no shift in South Africa’s position, with the country scoring 41 in both years and remaining outside the top 10 performers in sub-Saharan Africa, where it currently ranks 12th regionally. Sub-Saharan Africa again emerged as the lowest-scoring region globally, with an average score of 32, and only four of 49 countries scoring above 50.

Transparency International notes that countries with stagnant CPI scores often struggle to convert governance frameworks into visible accountability outcomes, particularly at local government level, where service delivery failures are felt most directly by communities.

Commenting on the South African result, Corruption Watch executive director Lebogang Ramafoko said the lack of improvement was cause for concern.

“While the score has seldom given cause for celebration, remaining below the 50 mark for so long, stagnation at 41 suggests that corruption is not being addressed with the urgency it requires,” she said.

The 2025 CPI does acknowledge developments not yet reflected in public perceptions, including South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in 2025, ongoing financial governance reforms and investigations into corruption within the criminal justice system through constitutionally supported processes.

However, Transparency International cautions that perceptions tend to lag behind reforms, meaning sustained and visible accountability is required before improvements are reflected in future CPI scores.

Globally, the index paints a bleak picture. 122 of 180 countries scored below 50, while the number of countries scoring above 80 has dropped from 12 a decade ago to just five. Denmark again topped the index with a score of 89, followed by Finland (88) and Singapore (84).

The City and the Western Cape Government have previously pointed to audit outcomes, internal controls and oversight mechanisms as evidence of sound administration.

Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel.

Cape Argus