South Africa’s Big Coronavirus Aid Effort Tainted by Corruption

LYNSEY CHUTEL

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Contracts are being doled out to family members. Food parcels have gone missing. And funds meant for unemployment insurance are making their way into the pockets of political cronies.

South Africa, the continent’s economic powerhouse, responded to the coronavirus pandemic by announcing the largest relief effort in the country’s history. But the undertaking has been dogged by allegations of widespread corruption and mismanagement, undermining confidence in a government that had initially received international acclaim for its assertive response to the pandemic.

Charities and ordinary citizens say they have been left to fill in the gaps created by the government’s failures.

Despite its moves to control the pandemic, South Africa is now overwhelmed by more than 592,144coronavirus cases, the fifth-highest infection rate in the world and the highest official caseload on the African continent.South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party initially won praise after it