ACTis has raised three flags for the Master’s Office.
The suspensions of multiple senior officials and persistent acting appointments across key offices and leadership roles indicate weakened institutional stability and diminished authority and accountability. This can create vulnerabilities that make effective oversight and organisational resilience harder to sustain.
Allegations suggest that patronage networks direct the contracting of preferred service providers, that officials who resist are intimidated, and that officials may engage in bribery schemes to accelerate services and bypass formal administrative processes. These allegations reinforce governance concerns and weaken oversight and institutional resilience against maladministration and corruption.
Together, these indicators suggest an informal influence operating alongside formal institutional structures, and point to state capture-related risks.
Investigations, suspensions, disciplinary measures and recommendations from oversight bodies are attempting to address the situation, suggesting that accountability mechanisms remain active. However, this has not yet translated into noticeable reforms or institutional recovery.
These risks carry significant practical consequences. Backlogs and delays in appointing executors, amending trust deeds and finalising insolvencies create financial hardship for those who depend on the timely administration of matters before the Master’s Office. Mismanagement and lost documentation undermine service delivery. Perceptions that bribes or intermediaries are required to expedite services erode public confidence in the institution’s fairness and integrity, weaken trust in formal administrative processes and create unequal access to services.