The private sector, we know, is not a novice in the game of corruption. For those companies wishing to proactively take steps to address this situation, says Cynthia Schoeman of Ethics Monitor, a critical first response is to move beyond public sector criticism to get the ethics in one’s own house in order.
A new report on corporate reporting on anti-corruption programmes, organisational transparency, and country-by-country reporting shows that not all corporates willingly disclose this information. Of the 100 companies assessed, those which earned high scores are all JSE-listed and therefore subject to regulation, while those which scored poorly are privately owned.
Corruption thrives when people who notice choose to say nothing – but it’s a huge step to take, and there are many factors to consider beforehand. To assist potential whistle-blowers in making an informed decision, the Public Affairs Research Institute has published an informative booklet aimed particularly at public servants who want to expose corruption, but will help anyone. Download it now.
South African police officers are complicit in the surge of gender-based violence, writes Corruption Watch’s Sabeehah Motala, by not taking victims’ complaints seriously, often placing the blame on the victim, and extorting sexual favours from women. The police force needs both feminist-sensitive training and anti-corruption training, Motala argues, because the two issues intersect in the archaic system of patriarchy.
Corruption Watch is a leading player in South Africa’s open contracting space, and has contributed to a new report published jointly by the Government Transparency Institute and Transparency International Health Initiative. The report analyses open contracting in low- to middle-income countries, with a specific focus on reform strategies in procurement.
Transparency International Australia has launched the third edition of its Mining Awards Corruption Risk Assessment (Macra) tool, which helps users to identify and assess the underlying causes of corruption in mining sector awards. The new version takes a gender-sensitive approach to risk assessment, and helps identify the gendered impacts of corruption on women.
Corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering were just a few elements of the Fishrot scandal, which broke in December 2019. The whistle-blower was a senior executive in alleged perpetrator Samherji’s Namibian operation and part two of our mini-series is based on a recent presentation he gave at a conference, where he laid out the elaborate mechanisms by which Namibia lost millions.
Whether the motivation is noble or selfish, blowing the whistle on corruption is a tough ask. In this two-part mini-series, we learn about the motivations and experiences of Icelander Jóhannes Stefánsson, who in 2016 exposed grand corruption and money laundering in the Namibian operations of fishing multinational Samherji, and today is still grappling with the fallout.
Members of the media are invited to the virtual launch of Corruption Watch’s Transparency in Corporate Reporting 2020 report. the report that evaluates how businesses promote transparency and integrity within the sector. The event takes place on 2 December 2020 with co-hosts ODI and the National Business Initiative.
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.