Nonprofit organisation Corruption Watch (CW) on Monday noted a persistent crisis of governance across multiple sectors, with local government and public safety institutions drawing the highest volume of public grievances, with Gauteng firmly holding the title of the country's corruption epicentre.

The organisation released its fourteenth annual corruption report, titled ‘Ke Nako: Mobilising for justice’.

CW received a total of 2 222 corruption complaints over the reporting period, with an overwhelming 91% of these submissions classified as directly corruption-related.

According to CW board chairperson Themba Maseko, the organisation processed an average of 185 reports per month. Whistleblowers relied heavily on digital platforms to expose wrongdoing.

The official website served as the primary reporting channel at 60%, followed by WhatsApp at 23% and email at 16%.

The public sector continues to bear the brunt of the allegations, with local government structures drawing the most intense scrutiny, with 400 reports from local government, 133 from national government and 116 from State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

When looking at specific sectors, the South African Police Service emerged as the single most cited entity, leading a concerning list of public and private institutions.

The organisation noted 300 corruption reports in policing, 221 complaints in basic education, 219 complaints in business and 141 complaints in the SOE sector.

CW also pointed out that it received 101 complaints from legal and financial services, 92 from construction and 82 from traffic and licensing.

Provincial government entities collectively accounted for 811 complaints, though many whistleblowers chose to keep these specific institutions anonymous.

Beyond the police, the most frequently targeted government departments include education, justice, home affairs, and health.

Mirroring trends from 2024, institutional mismanagement and financial misconduct form the core of the public's complaints.

Maladministration led the pack with 408 cases, followed closely by fraud at 330 and bribery or extortion at 245 cases.

Other frequent offences included procurement irregularities at 235, dereliction of duty at 214, misappropriation of resources at 209, and abuse of power at 197.

The data highlights a severe concentration of governance challenges within South Africa's most populous and urbanised regions. Gauteng is the country's corruption epicentre, yielding 993 cases, amounting to 45% of the national total.

The remaining top-reported provinces include KwaZulu-Natal with 249 cases, Limpopo with 182, the Eastern Cape with 174, and the Western Cape with 173.

Together, these five provinces represent the vast majority of corruption reports, underscoring systemic vulnerabilities in urban and high-population economic hubs, CW said.