INVESTIGATION

“No-fee” school charges parents R207 a year

By Julia Chaskalson First published on GroundUp Umtapho High School is a no-fee school in the north of Durban that forces parents to pay fees every year. The fees charged to parents are R160 for maintenance, R35 for a new student card and R12 per registration form for each child each year. Parents say the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

How corruption affects climate change

First published on Transparency International Climate change, like corruption, is a matter of life or death. The evidence is hard and clear. 2016 was the hottest year ever on record, extreme “once in a generation” weather events are becoming more regular, and fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef are dying. Climate change is no longer a future threat; it is here. Read more >

OUTREACH AND EVENTS

Call for proposals: outdoor marketing and promotions

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: OUTDOOR MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS Corruption Watch is a non-profit organisation founded in 2012. We rely on the public to report corruption to us and use these reports as an important source of information to fight corruption and to hold leaders accountable for their actions.  Corruption Watch’s aim is to ensure that the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Corruption Challenges Index: unexpected result for SA

There can be no doubt that South Africa is grappling with serious public and private sector corruption issues at present, issues that are undermining the population’s faith in government and corporates alike, and denting the economy as well as the country’s image. Several indexes are released each year that present the worldwide corruption situation in Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

New arms deal allegations against Zuma and Thales

Corruption Watch (CW) and the Right2Know Campaign (R2K) are engaged in a court challenge to the findings of the Arms Procurement Commission, also known as the Seriti Commission, into allegations of corruption in the multi-billion-rand arms deal. The commission spent four years and over a hundred million rands of taxpayers’ money, only to claim that Read more >

LEGISLATION AND SUBMISSIONS

FIC bill signed into law at last

On Saturday 29 April President Jacob Zuma signed the long-awaited Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) bill into law. The amended FIC act is aimed at strengthening domestic regulations that deal with money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and illicit financial transactions. It brings South Africa up to standards and requirements set by the Financial Action Task Read more >

INVESTIGATION

The no-fee school which forced parents to pay

Text and photos by Julia Chaskalson First published on GroundUp NOTE: This investigation was initiated by Corruption Watch and taken forward as a joint exercise between Corruption Watch and GroundUp.   Mpumelelo Primary School in Midrand, Gauteng, is a no-fee school. But in 2007, whistleblowers approached the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to report that Read more >

LITIGATION

All our correspondence in the Sars matter

Corruption Watch has laid charges against South African Revenue Services (Sars) commissioner, Tom Moyane, as well as two senior Sars employees, Jonas Makwakwa and Kelly-Ann Elskie. The latter two are charged with fraud and corruption and Moyane is charged with failing to act decisively on the findings of a report from the Financial Intelligence Centre Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Don’t let corruption in SA become normalised

It is not true that corruption has no victims, writes William Gumede, associate professor at Wits University’s School of Governance. Rather, it causes “disastrously inefficient economic, social and political outcomes” – among others, it diverts public resources from critical development projects to less productive, less job creation and less growth spurring ones, discourages long-term investment, Read more >