South Africa currently holds the G20 presidency, the first country from the African continent to do so. Its theme for the year of office is Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability, and it will also focus strongly on anti-corruption work, with the Department of Public Service and Administration, the Special Investigating Unit, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation driving the agenda in this regard.
A new policy brief, published by Corruption Watch under the auspices of the EU’s Rallying Efforts to Accelerate Progress in Africa project, focuses on exposing the gaps in South Africa’s IPILRA and MPRDA policies in terms of meaningful community consultation in the mining rights process. The brief further calls for the swift implementation of IPILRA regulations for obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from mining-affected communities.
“With our landmark elections and the possibility for driving even more effective anti-corruption reforms, our advocacy going forward is more critical and urgent to make the most of the new opportunities post-elections.” Corruption Watch’s executive director Karam Singh touches briefly on the task that lies ahead of the organisation in 2025, in this letter to supporters.
In the second part of an extensive GroundUp investigation into the Gauteng Department of Social Development, the organisation reveals how a network of non-profit organisations, co-operatives, and companies captured the department’s “sustainable livelihoods” budget. They worked with officials on the inside, who also benefited from the crooked scheme – and who have not been asked to account for their actions.
Following an extensive investigation, activist organisation GroundUp reveals how the findings of a forensic audit into R500-million corruption in the provincial Department of Social Development was suppressed. Tender processes were bypassed, officials and suppliers benefited personally, and there have been few consequences – except for many of the province’s non-profit organisations, who have struggled to stay afloat.
A new report from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime delves deep into the growing extortion economy in Gauteng, identifying four main drivers of the criminal practice and four main extortion economies in the province. Authored by Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, the report is titled Calling the shots: The strong arm of extortion in Gauteng.
This year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated every year on 9 December, takes place under the theme Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity. The theme highlights the vital role young people play in the fight against corruption and their potential to become powerful agents of change as the world strives for a future that runs on integrity rather than corruption.
The Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems, or MAPS, recently released a lengthy assessment of South Africa’s public procurement system. The report found that while there has been some progress in reforming the system, significant improvements are needed in terms of systemic corruption, institutional weaknesses, e-procurement limitations, and issues with integrity and anti-corruption measures.
The newly introduced Constitution Twenty-first Amendment Bill, presented this week to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, aims to amend the Constitution to establish an anti-corruption commission as a Chapter 9 body, one that will report only to Parliament and will have the necessary powers to investigate and prosecute serious corruption and high-level organised crime exclusively.