How much does South Africa really lose, year after year, because our public sector is not professionalised? It’s a question that stirs the emotions of taxpayers, businesses, and ordinary citizens.
By Msizi Gwala CA(SA), lead: public sector thought leadership at SAICA
Yet, despite the urgency, the answer remains elusive. Far greater than the annual numbers that appear in budget documents, and far deeper than the scandals caught by our headlines.
Let’s be clear: a government that is poorly organised, under-skilled, and ethically rudderless does more than waste money. It undermines every promise of democracy, economic growth, and national pride. The billions lost are tragic. But the invisible, unmeasured costs are even more troubling.
The scope and complexity of our public sector, combined with weak data systems and chronic non-disclosure, mean the “total cost” of dysfunctional governance can never be fully captured. Yet, experts across academia and civil society agree, professionalising public service is non-negotiable if South Africa is to break the cycle of waste, fraud, and underperformance.
More than a number
Most South Africans know about fruitless and wasteful expenditure: billions spent on late payments, inflated prices, lawsuits, and botched projects with no value for money. High-profile corruption cases and procurement fraud have drained essential budgets, destroyed trust, and diverted resources away from schools, roads and hospitals.
Yet, poor professional standards fuel a host of additional losses that annual audits do not reflect. Mismanagement: projects that run years overdue or overbudget, duplicative efforts, under-utilised assets, drains the fiscus in ways that spiral year after year. Decision-makers, often without the appropriate expertise, miss development opportunities and leave communities in the lurch.
Unauthorised and irregular expenditure, payments and deals made in violation of plans and regulations, signal deeper failures in government operations and accountability. They create fertile ground for fraud and corruption, weaken investor and household trust, and raise costs for everyone from local businesses to the National Treasury, and ultimately taxpayers.
When services break down, or simply fail to arrive, the economic fallout is severe: citizens stop paying, businesses lose confidence, investment dries up, and unemployment rises. Social unrest flares, damaging property, safety, and livelihoods alike.
Material irregularities, governance failures so serious they threaten public value, are now reported by the external auditors (not government) with some progress made to resolve these. Outsourcing various functions to private consultants at inflated rates may plug pressing gaps, but it erodes long-term capacity and sends another signal that government can’t fix itself.
The scale: conservative estimates, real risks
Even with limited reporting, the major figures are startling when it comes to amounts lost to corruption alone:
- R27-billion a year estimated lost to corruption (Ebrahim Patel)
- R292-billion cited as daily corruption loss (Democratic Alliance)
- R700-billion since 1994 (Transparency International, various sources)
- R250-billion in state capture alone (Zondo Commission)
- R521-billion bailed out for SOEs (Corruption Watch)
- R200-billion+ lost annually to public sector dysfunction (OUTA)
- Up to 30% of GDP foregone; up to R1-trillion in lost tax revenue over seven years (Bureau of Economic Research)
No model can capture every cent lost, but this much is clear: the country is bleeding, and every household feels it.
Beyond the rands: the hidden costs
Qualitative considerations are just as critical in reflecting on the costs of this failure:
- Public trust and legitimacy: each headline scandal further erodes tax morale, investment, compliance, and civic participation and potential.
- Development paralysis: delays in delivery and project failures stall growth, deepen poverty and inequality, and sap community spirit.
- Talent drain: nepotism, poor leadership, and underinvestment see our best people exit government and often the country, leaving a cycle of mediocrity.
- Reputational damage and lost investment: weakened credibility and chronic instability raise borrowing costs and deter investment (local and foreign).
- Ethical erosion: lack of ethical behaviour, everyday corruption together with a lack of consequences or accountability perpetuate loss and decline
- Service disruption: service delivery failures stoke unrest and cost lives and livelihoods.
- Decay and dilapidation: Infrastructure crumbles while maintenance lags, trapping communities and elevating future costs.
Counting the cost, demanding reform
The true price of an unprofessionalised public sector is counted not only in budgets but in broken promises, missed opportunities, and futures forsaken. Global institutions and local analysts agree: professionalising our public sector is essential, an investment in fiscal stability, social trust, and national renewal.
What South Africa desperately needs is merit-based appointments, professional workforce, transparent leadership, robust ethical standards, and meaningful accountability. Every step taken towards professionalisation will bring real returns, not only for financial reporting, but for every citizen who hopes for safer streets, better schools, reliable water, and a government worthy of its people.
The stakes are simply too high to settle for less.