09 December 2025
Corruption Has Become a National Crisis: Workers and Communities Are Paying the Price The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) marks the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Day by continuing to ring the alarm over how corruption has moved far beyond isolated scandals. It has become a national crisis that is collapsing institutions, eroding public confidence and stripping workers and communities of the basic services and economic stability they depend on.
The cost is direct and devastating. Money lost to corruption is money stolen from clinics, schools, rail infrastructure, policing, energy supply and municipal services. Workers feel this every day: higher transport costs because public systems have failed, unsafe neighbourhoods, unstable electricity supply, wage erosion in an economy weakened by mismanagement and lost investment, and the daily hardship created by rising living costs. Corruption is not an abstract governance failure.
It is an attack on the livelihoods and dignity of workers, the poor and all South Africans. FEDUSA maintains that the country cannot rebuild while corruption networks remain intact and accountability remains inconsistent. Government must treat corruption as an economic emergency. This requires stronger oversight, transparent procurement systems, urgent consequence management and meaningful protection for whistle-blowers who continue to expose wrongdoing at great personal risk.
Anticorruption laws and frameworks already exist. What is missing is the political will to enforce them consistently and without favour. South Africans deserve prosecutions that move, recoveries that matter and public leadership that sets a clear example of ethical conduct.
FEDUSA acknowledges the many workers, investigators, auditors, journalists, shop stewards and civil society partners who continue to uphold integrity in hostile and high-pressure environments.
Their work keeps the hope of a functional state alive. But they cannot succeed without a capable public administration, decisive leadership and social partners who treat corruption as the national threat it is. South Africa cannot afford another decade of institutional decline. Clean governance is not optional but the foundation of economic recovery, inclusive development and a society where workers and the poor can live with dignity.
FEDUSA will continue to demand accountability, expose abuse and advocate for a transparent, corruption-free South Africa, that serves the people rather than those who prey on public resources.
END.