Corruption and Human Rights Violations: The Role of Local Government in Curbing Corruption and Its Effects on Citizens’ Access to Rights

Abstract

Local government—the sphere closest to people—is constitutionally mandated to realise human rights through essential service delivery.
Yet persistent corruption, weak internal controls and institutional capture systematically divert public resources, entrench inequality, and
erode the rule of law. This article examines the relationship between corruption in local government and the violation of human rights
in South Africa and asks how local integrity systems can mitigate these effects. Drawing on a comparative case study of the Midvaal and
Madibeng Local Municipalities, it demonstrates that robust integrity systems function as human rights infrastructure. Midvaal Local

Municipality, operating as a positive outlier and symbolic beacon within a dysfunctional municipal landscape, shows that integrated anti-
corruption and rights frameworks produce measurable improvements in rights outcomes, while Madibeng Local Municipality illustrates

the causal pathways through which corruption translates into concrete rights violations. The article argues that anti-corruption and human
rights agendas are mutually reinforcing and must be pursued together.