Every year on 23 June, designated as World Whistle-blower Day, Corruption Watch joins the world in honouring the brave patriots who have risked their lives and their livelihoods in pursuit of the truth. We also reflect on what we, as a society and as individuals, are doing to make the environment for blowing the whistle more enabling and encouraging.
A society should never become comfortable with being failed, writes Duduzile Zwane for CW Voices, and South Africa must demand a government that serves, not one that benefits from power. This Africa Public Service Day – held annually on 23 June – provides another opportunity to reflect on the quality of South Africa’s public service, and who it is really serving.
The Independent Electoral Commission has officially launched the 2026 local government elections, marking the commencement of the mass awareness campaign towards Election Day in November. This is after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced 4 November 2026 as the date for South Africa’s upcoming local government elections. Currently there are just under 28 000 000 registered voters on the roll.
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to publish a clear and substantive government response to the report of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which was submitted in August 2025. This response must set out a time-bound implementation plan for reforming South Africa’s anti-corruption architecture, including a decision on the proposed Office of Public Integrity.
Corruption Watch has received no response to its urgent letter sent to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development last week, in connection with applications for a vacancy at the South African Human Rights Commission. The organisation cited concerns regarding meaningful public participation in the appointment process, and asked for clarity on other concerns.
Corruption Watch has written to the parliamentary portfolio committee on Justice and Constitutional Development urging it to extend the window for public commentary on the currently advertised vacancy at the South African Human Rights Commission. The organisation has reminded Parliament that in August 2025 the Constitutional Court held that it must satisfactorily meet its obligations imposed in terms of section 59(1)(a) of the Constitution and says that 14 days to scrutinise 95 CVs is “manifestly unreasonable”.
South Africa does not have a corruption problem alone, writes Corruption Watch’s Melusi Ncala – it also has a selective outrage problem. The Constitutional Court’s Phala Phala ruling of 11 May may be the moment South Africa discovers whether our society is capable, finally, of applying the same standard to those it admires as to those it despises.
Corruption Watch today releases its 14th annual corruption report, titled Ke Nako: Mobilising for justice, with the aim of gathering all sectors into the fight against corruption, as this is not a goal that can be achieved by only one or two participants. The time has come for all of society to demand justice and accountability from those in power, says board chairperson Themba Maseko.
Whistle-blowers are the lifeblood of democracy, writes NWU’s Angeline Marokoane, yet South Africa’s system is designed to abandon them. This poignant statement emerged at a recent dialogue, held at the North-West University on the use – and perils – of investigative journalism in holding the powerful to account. The panel, comprising Khaya Sithole, Pauli van Wyk, Kyle Cowan, and Sikonathi Mantshantsha, made recommendations as to how investigative journalism in the country can be strengthened.