Public sector professionalisation moving ahead

The parliamentary portfolio committee on Public Service and Administration met on 11 September to discuss progress in implementing the professionalisation plan for the public sector. Present were representatives of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), including Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana, and the National School of Government (NSG). “Professionalisation should be at the heart Read more >

A single anti-corruption agency is a high-risk option for SA

By Colette AshtonFirst published on Institute for Security Studies Corruption and state capture over the past decade in South Africa were enabled by an attack on the independence and capacity of its criminal justice agencies. As the country struggles to bring the perpetrators to book and prevent further damage, the question is: are South African Read more >

Democracy under scrutiny on int’l commemorative day, 15 September

Democracy: from Ancient Greek dēmokratía, dēmos ‘people’ and kratos ‘rule’. Literally, rule by the people, especially rule of the majority. In its basic form, a government in which state power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving free and competitive elections. September 15 Read more >

Fight for global tax justice and equality takes positive turn

Image: Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism The global system of taxation is profoundly unequal, and long overdue for change. Global tax rules tend to favour developed countries, to a large degree because the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the de facto rule setter, and has been for over 60 years. Those Read more >

Deadline extended for public submissions on electoral reform

The electoral reform consultation panel (ERCP) invites members of the public, and organisations including political parties or prospective independent candidates, to make written submissions for its consideration on proposals for an electoral system for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. The closing date for written submissions is 31 October 2024 – previously the deadline was Read more >

Afrobarometer: Democracy at risk – the people’s perspective

In July pan-African research institution network Afrobarometer released what it describes as its inaugural flagship report, one focusing on the democratic aspirations and experiences of African citizens. The organisation intends this to be an annual series. Information is drawn from more than a decade’s worth of data, including the latest round of nationally representative surveys Read more >

Former Prasa engineer Mtimkulu gets 15 years for fraud

Image: Wikimedia Commons, used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Almost a week after his former boss was sworn in as a member of Parliament, former Prasa executive Daniel Mtimkulu learned his fate in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday. He will be going to jail for 15 years, the maximum sentence for fraud. Read more >