The African Union (AU) was expected to hand a report on good governance to President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday night that contains wide-ranging criticisms, from the handling of the HIV/AIDS crisis to the continued vast poverty gap.
Critics also accuse the South African government of watering down the "peer review" -- under which countries rate each other's performance and offer advice on improvements -- by insisting on "editing" the final report.
The report says that because of "creeping corruption" and conflicts of interest proliferating in public life, South Africans "feel betrayed, regarding corruption as a negation of democratic gains after a long period of struggle."
A poll released at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week showed that 63 percent of South Africans think their leaders are dishonest.
The perception of growing corruption, and official tolerance of it, has been fueled by high-profile cases such as that of Tony Yengeni, the former African National Congress (ANC) speaker of parliament who was jailed for four years for taking bribes from a weapons manufacturer but released this year after only four months in prison. He was greeted like a hero by ANC leaders.
The government has also been embarrassed by a swirl of corruption investigations focusing on the controversial ?4 billion (US$7.8 billion) weapons deal with Western arms makers, including an inquiry by British police into BAE Systems' sale of aircraft to South Africa.
The AU report noted that concerns were raised not only about large-scale graft but also corruption in everyday life, such as the provision of housing. It also warns that crime, particularly against women and children, is undermining South African democracy despite an assertion by Mbeki earlier this month that people do not believe it is out of control.
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