Farm Worker Equity Schemes, rolled out in the 1990s, were meant to uplift farm workers. But once the government had paid out the grants, writes Corruption Watch’s Melusi Ncala, it failed to monitor implementation of these schemes, and ultimately the only ones who benefited were the already wealthy farmers.
Although losses related to material irregularities ran into the billions again this year, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke says her office is making progress in getting public sector accounting entities and officers to acknowledge and address fiduciary failures and subsequent material financial losses.
South Africa’s appetite to fight corruption and state capture should not depend on who is in charge of government’s anti-corruption strategy, but who is on the ground mobilising against the scourge. In this first of two articles, we highlight the call to action made at the recent state capture conference hosted by civil society for South Africans to abandon their class comforts, and fight corruption in the same spirit that they fought against apartheid.
Among South Africa’s numerous problematic government departments and entities, there are institutions of governance that shine, preventing total chaos from prevailing. The Auditor-General of South Africa is undoubtedly one of the latter, and it was recently elected as the official auditors for Unesco for the next five-year term.
The challenges facing NSFAS are many and cannot be merely dismissed as machinations of the ANC’s political rivals, as Higher Education and Technology Minister Blade Nzimande claims, writes Corruption Watch’s Moepeng Talane. Besides alleged poor governance and abuse of power at the top, linked to corruption and maladministration, the entity struggles with poor control and monitoring of systems.
Retired police brigadier Jap Burger appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts this week to discuss his role in the investigations into allegations of corruption in Eskom. Burger, who had few positive things to say about the way his former employer approached anti-corruption work, had initially been hesitant to meet with the committee, and shared his reasons and concerns.
The Western Cape, often touted as a model of good governance, is becoming more and more of a safe haven for criminal gangs. The first report from a new initiative monitoring organised crime in South Africa, reveals that gangs in this province are allowed to act with impunity as a result of police corruption and a weakened criminal justice system, among other factors.
South Africa has not been a trailblazer on the continent in terms of reforming its public procurement system. A new article by Edwin Muhumuza of the Open Contracting Partnership shows that in terms of factors such as professionalisation, centralisation, and public registers, South Africa lagged well behind, rather than leading.
Public participation in democratic processes is not only a citizen’s right, but a duty. Such participation ensures that members of the public have a say in decisions that affect them. There are various ways in which citizens can get involved with the various structures and institutions of democracy; in this article we talk about some easy avenues for participation.
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.