Entries by Corruption Watch

Political party funding in the spotlight at last year’s CoSP11

22 January 2026 in , /by

The 11th Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption took place last month in Doha, Qatar, ending on 19 December 2025. During the proceedings, states parties adopted 11 anti-corruption-related resolutions, ranging from the combating of corruption that facilitates the smuggling of migrants, to enhancing data collection to measure corruption and its impacts. Among these, they adopted a landmark resolution on combating corruption through transparency in political finance.

New public procurement amendment bill focuses on whistleblowers

16 January 2026 in , /by

The newly announced Fallen Whistleblowers Bill, an ActionSA initiative, aims to attack corruption in public procurement with four main priorities: creating a secure disclosure mechanism, increasing penalties for intimidation, introducing an incentive of between 15% and 25% of recovered funds, and enabling private prosecution when the NPA fails or refuses to act. The document is also referred to as the Public Procurement Amendment Bill 2026.

Can municipal corruption be likened to organised crime?

15 January 2026 in , /by

At the end of 2026, citizens will vote for their local government representatives. It’s not too early to start giving careful consideration to who gets that vote, especially in light of a new policy brief from ENACT and the Institute for Security Studies, which examines the patterns of corruption in local government and compares them to those found in organised crime. “The more organised, normalised, and profitable corruption becomes in local government across South Africa, the less incentive there will be for good governance.”

The global state of democracy is cause for concern

8 January 2026 in , /by

Towards the end of 2025 the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an organisation supporting democracy around the world, published the latest edition of The Global State of Democracy, an index that assesses democratisation across the world. The results show a global pattern of weakening democracy. South Africa, despite some low scores, for instance in Absence of Corruption, did not fare too badly overall.

Appointment of the new national director of public prosecutions

7 January 2026 in , , /by

Corruption Watch notes the surprise announcement of the appointment of Adv Andy Mothibi, current SIU head, as the new national director of public prosecutions. The organisation says that while Mothibi does bring a wealth of anti-corruption knowledge and experience, he was nonetheless not one of the six short-listed candidates and it would have been preferable for him to have been subjected to the same interview process as the others.

Government embarks on audits into farm worker equity schemes

6 January 2026 in , , /by

Land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso has revealed before the National Assembly that forensic audits into farmworker equity schemes are under way, with the aim of recovering funds lost to corruption and unethical practices and possibly extending the investigations into corruption. This follows years of activism and investigation by various stakeholders, including Corruption Watch.

Police corruption probes take break, but whistle-blower protection remains urgent

19 December 2025 in , /by

As we draw close to the anniversary of the surprising, but fateful, order by Senzo Mchunu at the end of December 2024 for SAPS leadership to disband the PKTT, it is important for the decision makers probing the allegations of political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system to prioritise accountability and, in the interest of public confidence, the urgency of whistle-blower protection and support.   

CW enquires into alleged irregular increase of STP salary

18 December 2025 in , , , /by

Corruption Watch has written to Parliament asking for answers regarding “alleged irregularities” that have been brought to its attention in relation to the recent salary increase of the current Secretary to Parliament (STP), Xolile George. Since George took office in June 2022, his salary has ballooned from R2.5-million to the current R6.1-million.