Gupta brothers confirmed to hold Vanuatu citizenship

The Vanuatu Citizenship Commission has confirmed that Atul and Rajesh Gupta, Indian brothers accused of corruption and state capture in South Africa, are citizens of the Pacific Ocean archipelago. In a statement cited in local media, the Chairman of the Citizenship Commission, Robin Kapapa, specified that Vanuatu does not intend to revoke the citizenship status Read more >

Covid-19 procurement irregularities at R8.9-billion, with more to come

The Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) third final report on its wide-ranging investigation into Covid-19 procurement irregularities under Proclamation R23 of 2020 is now publicly available – find part 1 and part 2 here. R23 authorised the SIU to investigate procurement conducted under the Covid-19 national state of disaster, which was declared in March 2020. It Read more >

FTI: writing was on the wall well before SA’s greylisting

In late February 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced the addition of South Africa to its so-called grey list, along with Nigeria, UAE, Tanzania, and Uganda. South Africa failed to satisfactorily address shortcomings in its anti-money laundering and -terrorist financing legal framework – which were highlighted in the FATF 2021 mutual evaluation review (MER). The Read more >

Scopa thoroughly unimpressed with De Ruyter

Image: YouTube / Parliament of South Africa Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter appeared virtually on 26 April 2023 before the parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) to elaborate on the allegations he made in a now widely shared February 2023 television interview television interview on e.tv, regarding his knowledge of corruption within the Read more >

World Press Freedom Day marks 30th anniversary

It’s been 30 years since the UN General Assembly proclaimed 3 May as an international day for press freedom. In those 30 years, journalists have faced an increasing barrage of threats, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message for World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2023. “Journalists and media workers are directly targeted on and Read more >

Freedom of expression underpins universal human rights 

Image: Flickr / Rachel Hinman With World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2023 upon us again, its custodian, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), names four fundamental freedoms which are outlined in the Preamble of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom from fear, and freedom from Read more >

Women fighting corruption – the fearless four

First published on Transparency International/Voices for Transparency Women’s History Month – marked each year throughout March – celebrates and highlights women’s contributions to society. From individual acts of courage to community organising, women around the world are courageously fighting corruption and promoting transparency, integrity, and accountability in their workplaces, communities, and beyond. Their work, while Read more >