POLICY AND ADVOCACY

CW submits comments on the Companies Amendment Bill

Much of Corruption Watch’s (CW) work consists of advocating for transparency – in procurement, in leadership appointments, in allocating resources, in matters of governance. Corruption threatens the credibility and effectiveness of these measures and more, and therefore transparency is crucial to curbing, even abolishing the scourge.   Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) is seen as an increasingly important element of any anti-corruption strategy, as it is fundamental in tackling illicit Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Fraser bid to cross-examine SSA witnesses fails

By Valencia Talane Former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general (DG) Arthur Fraser will not be cross-examining any of the witnesses who implicated him in state capture earlier this year. The chairperson of the state capture commission, acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Wednesday dismissed an application by Fraser to cross-examine a number of witnesses in Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Govt employees enjoy millions in ‘suspended’ pay

By Lyse Comins The Gauteng Provincial Government has had a high number of disciplinary hearings due to alleged corruption and financial misconduct costing the state more than R4-million during the 2020/21 financial year. According to the State of Public Service in Gauteng report presented to the provincial legislature, a total number of 56 cases of Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Former FS housing HOD sentenced for corruption

A former head of department in the Free State government, Mpho Mokoena, was handed a 15-year suspended sentence for corruption by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Mokoena headed up the provincial human settlements department from 2009 to 2011. His sentencing followed a guilty plea relating to offences he committed while in office, reporting to Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

SA good on legal anti-money laundering framework, poor on implementation

In October the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its mutual evaluation report on South Africa, following an assessment of the country’s anti-money laundering, counter financing of terrorism and counter financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF) systems.  The mutual evaluation was conducted by a team led by the International Monetary Fund and including officials from the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group and FATF member countries. The team assessed compliance Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

SA improves on latest defence integrity index, but still no standout

Image: Wikimedia Commons, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Transparency International Defence & Security has released the latest edition of its government defence integrity (GDI) index. The 2020 edition is now available online. It was previously known as the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index.  Corruption in the defence sector weakens public institutions and also limits a country’s ability to defend itself. Government bodies play a pivotal role Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Civil society calls on the public to stand up and fight corruption

Defend our Democracy announces anti-corruption week for 3 to 10 December. By Masego MafataSource: GroundUp Civil society organisations are urging the public to participate in a United in Action Against Corruption week to run from 3 to 10 December. Announced at a press briefing in Johannesburg earlier in November and organised by the Defend our Democracy Read more >

WHISTLE-BLOWERS

SA must protect its whistle-blowers – or lose the fight against corruption

Source: Tech Financials South Africa will not win the war against corruption if it does not actively and adequately protect whistle-blowers, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said on 10 November 2021. “Corruption has become embedded in South African society and it robs the country of the ability to provide its citizens with employment, services and social support by damaging Read more >

INVESTIGATION

The rot in the Public Service Commission, part 2: What’s next?

By Moepeng Talane The Public Service Commission (PSC) may have gotten rid of the main players in a nepotism scandal that rocked the institution early in 2020, leading to the dismissal of its director-general (DG), but the body is far from clearing itself of the stigma of a hithertofore largely unknown culture of autocracy and bad governance that has plagued it for years.   This is according to a whistle-blower who spoke to Corruption Watch on condition of Read more >