The number of deviations from prescribed procurement procedures in South Africa’s national and provincial governments surged in 2023/24. While deviations are not inherently indicative of corruption—since it is legal to deviate when ‘it is impractical to invite competitive bids’—they often raise concerns about the robustness of procurement planning and governance. Contract expansions are also monitored, as they can present opportunities for tender abuse. The entity responsible for the increase in deviations was the Department of Correctional Services, with 1071, followed by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) with 456 and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at 331. Three of the ten largest deviations and three of the 10 largest contract expansions involved Eskom. Eskom had 177 deviations and 69 contract expansions.
