Former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general Arthur Fraser will not be cross-examining any of the witnesses who implicated him in state capture earlier this year. The chairperson of the state capture commission, acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Wednesday dismissed an application by Fraser to cross-examine a number of witnesses in the intelligence stream of evidence.
Government employees facing charges of financial misconduct are costing the state more than R4- million while the corruption is probed.
A former head of department in the Free State government, Mpho Mokoena, was handed a 15-year suspended sentence for corruption by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Mokoena headed up the provincial human settlements department from 2009 to 2011.
South Africa has a solid legal framework to fight money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing, However, the country has “significant shortcomings implementing an effective system, including a failure to pursue serious cases, especially those linked to so-called ‘state capture’.”
South Africa has made a better showing on the 2020 Global Defence Integrity Index, released this week by Transparency International Defence & Security. The country rose above the halfway mark to end with a score of 57/100, eight points better than the G20 average of 49/100. This also takes it out of the 62% of countries that scored 49 or less.
Defend our Democracy, an association formed in March by civil society organisations – including Corruption Watch – religious leaders and individuals, has called on the South African public to participate in a United in Action Against Corruption week, which will run from 3 to 10 December. Highlights include a march on 5 December, and the release of a CW report on whistle-blowers on 9 December.
Exposing corruption is the only way South Africa can halt its political, social and economic decline, and full protection for those who expose it is a vital first step. If this does not happen we will be failing not only the whistle-blowers but the entire nation, and we will continue to lose valuable citizens like Athol Williams and Babita Deokaran.
The second article in a series focusing on our investigation into the Public Service Commission highlights the weaknesses uncovered, and potential triumphs that could be realised if the body’s restoration drive is taken seriously.
In part 4 of our series on beneficial ownership transparency, we see that a good deal of the spate of illegal activity seen in recent years could have been alleviated, had accurate and accessible information on the true owners of companies been readily available. Continued corporate ownership opacity plays into the hands of criminals – but finally a global push for transparency is taking shape.
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.