Published: September 2025
Authors: Devi Pillay – GI ACE, University of Sussex
This paper examines the role of consulting firms in enabling state capture in South Africa, with a focus on Transnet and Eskom during the Zuma–Gupta era. It shows how global and local consultancies – notably McKinsey, Regiments, and Trillian – became embedded within these state-owned enterprises, facilitating corruption and extracting billions in fees. The study highlights how weak procurement safeguards, manipulated fee models, and the reputational cover of multinational firms created opportunities for abuse, while sidelining in-house expertise and hollowing out institutional capacity. By tracing how advisory services were used to justify inflated contracts and poor financial decisions, the paper demonstrates that consulting firms were not passive bystanders but active enablers of state capture. It concludes with lessons for policymakers and practitioners on the risks of outsourcing critical state functions and the need for stronger accountability mechanisms to prevent similar dynamics elsewhere.
