What can you get for R70-billion?

The total amount of public money involved was US$4.8-billion, or R30-billion at the exchange rate of the day. However, this figure does not take into account the costs of financing the deal, which, when added in, bring the total to around R70-billion. The acquisitions were meant to modernise the South African National Defence Force’s existing Read more >

No more secret party funding, says MVC

My Vote Counts (MVC) is an organisation campaigning to improve the accountability, transparency and inclusiveness of elections and politics in South Africa, so that all of its citizens will have a stronger voice. MVC is advocating for two key changes for accountability and openness:   *  For the South African electoral system to be changed so Read more >

Hawks saga – feathers continue to fly

Suspensions; notices of suspension; court battles; and speculation over political interference. These are some of the scenarios that have preoccupied the leadership of the priority crime fighting unit, the Hawks, over the past few weeks. Political and social analysts are even more fascinated – they're crying foul over what they perceive as a strategic purge Read more >

CW reporter profile relatively unchanged

Towards the end of 2014 Corruption Watch (CW) conducted a survey of its reporters, as it has done in 2012 and 2013 too. The study was commissioned to assess reporters’ understanding of CW’s work, the overall success of CW’s campaigns in South Africa, and reporters’ experiences in reporting an incident. The aim of these CW Read more >

Make your mark in 2015 by supporting a good cause!

Citizen activism organisation Lead SA constantly encourages South Africans to stand up and become leaders, for the sake of their families, communities and country. An act of leadership, says the organisation, could be “as simple as making a stranger smile or as big as fighting to further the rights entrenched in our Constitution. Each act Read more >

SA among top developing countries with illicit outflows

As a national chapter-in-formation of global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), Corruption Watch is actively involved in TI’s campaign Unmask the Corrupt, which aims to stop perpetrators of corruption from hiding their ill-gotten gains in companies that operate in secret or with opaque corporate ownership structures, or by laundering the proceeds into luxury goods or offshore Read more >

Corruption and the law in South Africa

Want to know more about the legislation – both domestic and international – that informs our fight against corruption? Download our booklet which give information about the laws, structure and organisations involved. You can find more information in our three part series: Corruption and the law in South Africa – part one Corruption and the law in Read more >

Corruption and the wildlife trade

Veterinarian Mark Jones, currently programmes manager for wildlife at the UK’s Born Free Foundation, says that corruption is a huge threat to the safety of our fauna, as it facilitates the illegal trade in animal parts, especially sought-after items such as elephant ivory and rhino horns. This letter, written by him, was published in Daily Read more >

The good and bad news

By David Lewis (This article was first published in City Press) The recent Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index puts South Africa in 67th place out of the 175 countries surveyed. Those satisfied with mediocrity might think this is not too bad. People with this view must remember that our ranking dropped by about 30 places in Read more >