IRR invites SACC to discuss “moral fraud” of fake transformation in light of Madlanga Commission, Tembisa Hospital revelations

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has approached the South African Council of Churches (SACC) to discuss the scale of the “moral fraud” that is fake transformation — a system of policies and practices that have entrenched corruption, hollowed out state institutions, and devastated public services.

The IRR initially reached out to the church body in August, following the SACC’s anti-corruption conference in July. It is renewing the invitation to the SACC to engage in a discussion in light of more recent shocking revelations from both the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System under Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and the SIU’s investigation into procurement corruption at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital.

Both instances have exposed the devastating human and economic toll of politically enabled corruption.

Says Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager: “It is no coincidence that the actions of cadres, crooks, and cronies are now the focus of both the Madlanga Commission and the SIU’s Tembisa Hospital probe. Both are symptomatic of the same disease — fake transformation — which has replaced merit, accountability, and service delivery with political patronage, looting, and fear.”

The IRR argues that so-called transformation policies, sold as tools for empowerment, have instead become vehicles for elite enrichment. By prioritising race and connections over competence and integrity, the system has eroded the foundations of governance and public trust.

This “fake transformation”, the IRR says, has directly enabled:

• The looting of public funds through manipulated procurement processes;
• The appointment of unqualified officials and service providers in critical roles;
• The silencing and killing of whistleblowers who expose corruption; and
• The collapse of essential services — from hospitals to policing — on which the poorest citizens most depend.

“When people are hired or rewarded for reasons other than their ability to perform, you get tragedies like Tembisa Hospital,” Maja continues. “Ordinary South Africans pay the price — not only through stolen taxes, but through the loss of healthcare, safety, and dignity.”

The IRR says this crisis demands moral clarity and courage from the country’s most respected institutions. “We are urging the SACC, as an organisation of the highest moral authority, to lead the charge against fake transformation,” Maja concludes. “The church has always been a moral compass in times of injustice. Now, it must help expose the root cause of this daylight robbery against the people of South Africa.”

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries:

Anneke Burns

IRR Public Relations

+27 71 423 0079

anneke@abpr.co.za