For the Independent Directorate to function effectively, says Corruption Watch’s executive director Karam Singh, it must be properly structured, resourced, and capacitated to meet targets. Cabinet approved the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill in mid-August, making the directorate a permanent part of the state prosecuting body.
The Independent Electoral Commission urges the South African public to comment on its six draft regulations pertaining to the recently promulgated Electoral Amendment Act. The deadline for public comment is 27 August 2023.
When it comes to high-profile matters that involve corruption and have a far-reaching impact, Parliament is dropping the ball on effective oversight, says the Parliamentary Monitoring Group. The organisation recently released a follow-up to its 2022 review of Parliament’s actions in response to the multi-part final report of the Zondo commission into state capture.
Civil society organisation My Vote Counts has launched an interactive app which aggregates the available information on donations to political parties and makes it easier to track their private funding. Information can be filtered in various ways – by party, donation type (money or in-kind), the time period or quarter, donors, donor interest areas, and more.
The Department of Trade and Industry and Competition will this month submit the Companies First and Second Amendment Bills to Parliament. The two bills are aimed at addressing beneficial ownership transparency, improving transparency around the pay gap between employees and executives, and extending the period during which former directors can be declared delinquent, among others.
Transparency International chapters in Africa came together in Johannesburg this week for their annual regional meeting. The group has pushed relentlessly for conditions for freer, fairer, and more prosperous societies across the continent, said former ConCourt justice Richard Goldstone, delivering the keynote address at the gathering.
Over the next 10 years, says the Tax Justice Network, countries will lose nearly US$5-trillion in tax abuse because of the dodgy dealings of multinational corporations and wealthy individuals using tax havens to avoid paying what is due by them. The organisation is pushing for regulation of the global tax network to transfer to the UN, as it argues that the OECD – the current tax watchdog– is failing to curb tax evasion and illicit financial flows.
We often talk about the plight of whistle-blowers as being one that involves their safety, wellbeing and security – and rightly so. But often we overlook the power of inspiration that they may have drawn from those who used their positions of power and influence to right wrongs, despite the backlash they received. Some of these are women who, in spite of the circumstances, dared to use their voices for the benefit of many others who could not.
As South Africa ponders the question of how to provide incentives for whistle-blowers, the country needs to first adjust its approach to the matter. This was the view of experts who took part in a recent webinar hosted by the Public Affairs Research Institute. For instance, we should not look for lessons from the US – where a successful incentivisation scheme has been running for years – because that country has institutionalised whistle-blower support and South Africa has not.
Visit our GivenGain R20 for Change page and help us demand transparency in our systems, accountability in our leaders, and better empowerment and protection of whistle-blowers. By donating R20 a month, you’ll be supporting our work with communities across the country, helping them to know and access their rights and reduce the corruption that robs people of resources intended for their benefit.