After topping the Open Budget Index in 2019, South Africa features in second place on the 2021 edition, behind Georgia. The OBI is a comparative measure of budget transparency, participation, and oversight. In the 2021 edition, 120 countries were assessed.
The Special Investigating Unit has celebrated 25 years of existence, and significant success in recovering stolen public money and resources. With its unique set of powers and its Special Tribunal which is similar in status to a high court, the SIU is well placed to continue investigating and acting against the corrupt.
Corruption needs to be confronted in Westminster and Washington before it can ever be dealt with effectively in Africa, says telecoms mogul Mo Ibrahim, who is Sudanese by birth. This is because Western countries such as the US and UK facilitate the illegal financial flows and money laundering that are depriving the continent of growth and development.
Comments are invited on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, which is currently before Parliament. The deadline for comments from stakeholders and individuals has been extended to 15 August 2022. The Bill seeks to amend certain definitions, to strengthen enforcement mechanisms for offences and penalties, and to provide for financial and public accountability frameworks for governing bodies and provincial departments, among others.
Should President Cyril Ramaphosa, after pondering Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s recommendations to deal with state capture, decide that an independent anti-corruption body is warranted, that body will have to be independent beyond just its description. Zondo’s recommendations go much further, in fact, to the elimination of the executive from all stages of public procurement.
To mark African Anti-Corruption Day, held every year on 11 July, Transparency International’s 28 chapters across the African continent have written an open letter to the African Union, reminding it of its anti-corruption commitments and urging it to accelerate action against the effects and perpetrators of corruption. The organisations emphasised the devastating effects of Covid-19-related corruption on the citizens of Africa, and demanded an end to impunity for those found guilty.
Every year on 11 July, African countries commemorate African Anti-Corruption Day – this year’s theme is Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management of Covid-19 Funds. To mark the occasion, Transparency International has published a downloadable toolkit to help civil society organisations on the continent to push for good governance and transparency. The toolkit is based on the continuing work of organisations in Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
Public confidence and trust in the South African Police Force has dipped sharply in the last year, while showing a decline overall, and now sits at an all-time low according to the Human Sciences Research Council. The council’s Evaluation of Public Opinion Programme has been running since 1998 and shows a national decline of seven percentage points in 2021, with more than 20 points in the Western Cape. If left unchecked, this situation will continue to undermine police legitimacy in the country.
Part 2 of our new mini-series – on the factors that may influence the proposed establishment of an international anti-corruption court – looks at various views expressed by experts, who argue for and against the court, all making valid points. In part 1 we presented an overview of the concept.
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.