South Africa’s voters made their frustration plain on 29 May, writes Moepeng Talane for CW Voices, but the subsequent election to Parliament of several not-so-honourable members raises both eyebrows and questions. At what point, Talane asks, are standards going to be high enough that MPs who are undergoing or have undergone judicial processes against them, will be deemed unfit to serve in the legislature?
Former former sports, arts and culture minister Zizi Kodwa has been sworn in a member of Parliament for the ANC, Kodwa, who resigned his Cabinet post when he appeared in court on 5 June on state capture-related corruption charges, said he was just following party orders – but trade union association Cosatu says it would prefer that he resigned his parliamentary seat too.
It is fitting that World Whistleblower Day follows relatively soon after World Press Freedom Day, writes Janine Erasmus for CW Voices, because the two groups are linked in a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship. Each relies on the other to a certain degree – journalists to get information for their stories from whistle-blowers, and whistle-blowers for the exposition of their stories by journalists.
On the commemoration of this year’s World Whistleblower Day, held on 23 June, we focus our attention on whistle-blowers who were instrumental in the work of the state capture commission. They came from different sections of government and the private sector, and told of their unwavering courage, and large personal and career sacrifices to a commission that has since advocated for increased protection of such individuals.
The National Prosecuting Authority wants convicted fraudster Daniel Mtimkulu to serve at least 15 years for his crimes. Mtimkulu is Prasa’s former head engineer, but was revealed to have misrepresented his qualifications and other documents, which he used to motivate for better perks from the SEO. It was under his watch that the too-tall Afro 4000 locomotives were built, at a cost of billions to Prasa.
Youth Day is an important reminder of the work that lies ahead for the government we just voted in, that many young people are yet to experience the gains of post-1994, writes Siphokuhle Mkancu for the CW Voices blog.
South Africa has scored 33 out of 40 in terms of political rights, and 46 out of 60 for civil liberties, on the Freedom in the World 2024 index, published annually by Freedom House. However, the country, which successfully navigated a free and fair general election in recent weeks, fared less impressively in sub-categories concerning governance and corruption, rule of law, and personal autonomy and individual rights.
Tomorrow and Saturday, 14 and 15 June, are the first sittings of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, respectively. Parly secretary Xolile George, briefing the media and the nation on the preparations for this important event, said the parliamentary teams have been hard at work to ensure a seamless transition from the sixth to the seventh term of the national legislature.
Deputy minister of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery, has confirmed that government is currently developing a draft bill in response to recommendations made by the public to the department’s discussion paper on improving whistle-blower protection, which was released in June last year. Jeffery was speaking at the second Thulani Maseko memorial lecture, held on 12 June in Pretoria.