Alleged corrupt practices on stock theft by public sector officials in the selected rural areas of Giyani, Limpopo Province: Exploring the causes and experiences

The objective of the study was to explore alleged corrupt practices of stock theft by public sector officials in the selected rural areas of Giyani in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, focusing on causes and experiences. The local South African Police Service (SAPS) and Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: Giyani Magistrates’ Court (DOJ & CD: GMC) officials are allegedly touted to be allegedly involved in corrupt and fraudulent activities relating to this crime. From a qualitative standpoint; this study purposively selected 64 participants to form part of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) for data collection based on their respective knowledge and exposure to this crime. The collected data was analyzed to reach structured, reliable and conclusions adopting the Tesch technique. Major findings of this study indicate that the local SAPS and DoJ & CD: GMC were implicated in corruption acts, it is established that limited wages, greediness, profit and power, opportunity, as well as inadequate training, poor hiring practices and failure to adhere to a code of ethics are some of the notable causes of police corruption on stock theft cases. The improvement in legislation, punitive methods, remunerations, political partisanship, and the use of anti-corrupt strategies are cited as some recommendations in this study. Moreover, relevant stakeholders should work closely with provincial structures at rural communal levels, while avoiding a silo mentality to enhance collective actions thereof. Key Words:Alleged corrupt practices, Giyani Magistrates’ Court, Giyani rural area, SAPS, Stock theft