COVID-19 in South Africa: corruption in the running of the state affairs

Abstract

In democratic societies, citizenry perceive government as an important role player in the amelioration of their socio economic status. South African government is no exception. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic presented a proliferation of unprecedented challenges and unethical conduct in the public service that plagues the essence of good governance. From the construct that constitute the essence of literature in Public Affairs, Covid-19 did not only lay bare the failures of public service in eradicating corruption but exposed the rampant elements of inequalities and corruption by those perpetuating political notoriety and power elitism, polemic against the profundity of good governance. The paper seeks to deconstruct how covid-19 exposed the extent in which corruption is deeply rooted in the public service. This paper is conceptual in nature. Theory building and critical scholarship review are methodological insights that largely informed the paper. Conclusion and recommendations are provided.