Pieter-Louis Myburgh

Pieter-Louis is considered to be among South Africa’s top investigative journalists. He has more than 10 years’ experience in investigating and reporting on top-level graft and malfeasance, mostly centred on the government’s procurement models. Before joining Daily Maverick in 2019 Pieter-Louis worked at Beeld and Rapport newspapers and at News24. He is a regular guest on television and radio programmes, where he shares his insights into the corruption dynamics that mar South Africa. His keynote addresses move well beyond doom and gloom – they highlight the progress we are making in the battle against widespread graft, and offer ideas and solutions for curbing this problem.

Pieter-Louis offers unique insights into South Africa’s ongoing State Capture and corruption crisis. He also has a firm grip on the shortcomings in the government procurement models that so frequently lead to high-level graft, wasteful expenditure and poor service delivery. He has an authoritative view on topics including:

• The frequently problematic interactions between government departments and state-owned entities and the private business fraternity;
• Law enforcement and the criminal justice system;
• The media’s role in holding power to account;
• Disinformation in the age of digital media;
• The real-life impact of government corruption on South Africans from all backgrounds; and
• Open-source intelligence and other investigative methods used to track and expose corruption.

Pieter-Louis speaks engagingly about his investigative work and its many offshoots. He draws from his best-known exposés to offer broader inferences pertaining to South Africa’s body politic. Although his main point of focus is a very unsettling issue, Pieter-Louis nevertheless brings hope and humour to his appearances.

Pieter-Louis is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most impactful investigative journalists. His work has led to the cancellation of multibillion-rand government contracts, brought about the political demise of several top political figures and focused the public’s attention on important governance and corruption issues.