conduits of political corruption and patronage in south african government

Anecdotes of corruption and clear-cut lines of patronage in political parties and the governmentare frequently featured in south african newspapers and news media. such graft and favouritism haveinstitutionalised themselves more and more, resulting in the phenomenon of governmental capture and thediversion of covid-19 relief monies. in order to further their own interests, political elites and thoseworking in the public and private sectors influenced government decisions in this way. this paperpresents examples of state capture, covid-19 corruption, and patronage, as well as how these have a negative impact on broader governance and society at large. the fact that such corruption and patronageare occurring at a time when the south african economy is stagnating is particularly troubling since itimplies that more people are getting less and raises concerns about the country's future political stability.this article further examines how party patronage as one method by which political parties exploit thestate. the conceptual nature of the study is supported by a survey of the relevant literature from a range ofsources, such as government regulations, media excepts, and scholarly works.