The Democratic Alliance launched a whistleblower portal where members of the public can submit information about corrupt, fraudulent and suspicious government tenders.

The party said the move follows accounting officers’ failure to blacklist companies implicated in dodgy tenders, leaving taxpayers exposed to repeat offenders.

The ‘Blacklist Project’ gives South Africans a direct way to help expose wrongdoing. Information submitted will not be published. Instead, the DA will use it to pursue accountability through Parliament and relevant institutions, including the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Auditor-General.

Empty register after 22 years

In 2004, Parliament passed legislation establishing a Register for Tender Defaulters. Twenty-two years later, that register remains empty. Despite countless corruption scandals and investigations, companies and individuals implicated in wrongdoing continue securing government contracts.

DA deputy spokesperson on finance Wendy Alexander said this represents a failure of political will to act, not a failure of legislation.

By September 2025, the SIU had recommended that 467 companies and individuals be restricted from doing business with the state, but only one had been added to National Treasury’s Database of Restricted Suppliers.

A year later, little has changed. Of the 509 referrals sent to Treasury, only 18 have been blacklisted, while 491 remain under review, the Minister of Finance confirmed in September.

Tembisa Hospital scandal

At Tembisa Hospital, approximately R2 billion flowed to 207 suppliers through 4 501 purchase orders, yet none of these suppliers had been blacklisted.

Municipal irregular, unauthorised and wasteful expenditure reached R268 billion in 2024/25, while the number of municipalities making criminal referrals fell from 37 to 20.

The consequences affect ordinary South Africans through unfinished infrastructure, failing services and wasted public money, while honest small businesses struggle to compete against suppliers implicated in wrongdoing.

ALSO READ: SA’s deputy president caught up in dodgy diamond claim

Five urgent reforms

The DA is calling for five urgent reforms:

• Blacklist individuals behind corrupt companies, not only the companies themselves.
• Introduce strict deadlines for referring suppliers for restriction.
• Publicly identify departments and municipalities that fail to act.
• Establish a live, searchable blacklist linked to the Central Supplier Database.
• Ensure honest suppliers are paid on time.

The Blacklist Project website can be accessed here.

ALSO READ: Demands for swift action following SIU’s R2 billion Tembisa Hospital corruption exposé