Public trust in government dwindles

In an election year, it’s often a no-holds-barred scenario as parties jostle for advantage amongst the electorate. In South Africa, much of that electorate votes out of loyalty or tradition, but for a significant proportion who take time and care over their decision, it comes down to trust – whom do you trust to act Read more >

Graft should send a shiver down SA’s spine

Each year the release of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index generates a predictably polarised South African response. Some insist that it understates our problem. Others argue that it is part of a “cold war” waged by developed counties against developing countries, another platform for discrediting developing country governments by luming them with responsibility for a Read more >

Pay-off – a Fundza / Corruption Watch story

Naledi is excited to register for second year at varsity, but the cute guy behind the admin desk at the funding office has bad news. What can she do? And can she trust him when he offers to help find out what is going on? Is he after a pay-off? Find out what happens in Read more >

Govt procurement not just for purchasing?

Government procurement is a sometimes complicated, but necessary process. Government entities have strict procurement regulations that they must abide by – but at Corruption Watch, a significant number of the reports we receive involve corruption in the procurement process. A recent matter involving Beaufort West mayor Truman Prince may prove to be another of those Read more >

CPI: not all good news, but not all bad

Transparency International’s (TI) 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released today, shows that while corruption is still prevalent around the world, people can succeed in the fight against the scourge when they stand together. The CPI reveals that more countries improved their scores in the 2015 edition of the index, than declined. South Africa did not Read more >

Students claim govt, uni collusion against protests

Student members of the Fees Must Fall movement at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) say university vice chancellors and government are colluding to stifle protests – which are taking place in good faith – for free quality education by bringing in militant private security forces owned by former apartheid police onto campus. Phethani Madzivhandila, Read more >

SA’s defence corruption risk remains high

The Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) is an initiative of Transparency Internal UK’s Defence and Security Programme. The index assesses the existence, effectiveness, and enforcement of institutional and informal controls in the management of corruption in defence and security institutions. The organisation made its Africa report available online in January – it will be officially Read more >

Guide to the Protection from Harassment Act

Whistleblowers in South Africa, as is the situation in other countries, are protected under the law. The Constitution is the first line of defence, and then there is legislation such as the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) – known informally as the whistleblower’s act. Under this act an employee can report corruption and irregular conduct, and Read more >

Murky deals, exploited communities

Nicky Rehbock, global campaigns officer for Corruption Watch and Transparency International, wrote this blog about the MalaMala Files for Corruption Watch Connected: As part of Transparency International’s Land and Corruption in Africa project, we’ve partnered with Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism to probe what happened in the settlement of the MalaMala land claim in South Africa Read more >