Many South African companies do not publicly assure protection for whistle-blowers, according to a Corruption Watch report released on Tuesday.

The findings showed that few businesses publicly prohibited “facilitation payments”, and many did not publicly assure whistle-blowers that the company would protect them.

A total of 36 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies, and 14 of South Africa’s largest unlisted companies were surveyed for the Transparency in Corporate Reporting: South Africa (TRAC) report.

They were asked to answer a list of questions on a variety of topics and then scored accordingly.

Scores for transparency in organisations were relatively uneven across sectors. Anglo American Platinum, Hollard Insurance Group and Woolworths scored the highest.

“This report shows that there is certainly a degree of commitment on the part of South African companies to transparency. But much more needs to be done,” Corruption Watch's executive director David Lewis said.

Companies recorded low scores for disclosure of information, with an average of just 15%. This section focused on revenues, tax contributions, and social investment commitments.

"While South African regulation does not require listed or unlisted companies to disclose this information, there is a move internationally towards greater transparency about the impact of companies doing business across multiple jurisdictions,” the organisation said.