Less-lethal police weapons, when abused, are deadly too

Members of the South African Police Service. Photo: GroundUp.org.za. Rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, or stun grenades – these are some of the less-lethal weapons police in South Africa use to manage large crowds during unruly protest action. Their colleagues around the world do the same. However, while these weapons are touted as less-lethal, Read more >

CW urges DMR minister to act on corruption allegations

By Thato Mahlangu Image: Flickr/GovernmentZA Pleas from some aggrieved mining-affected community members to the minister of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), Gwede Mantashe, are said to have fallen on deaf ears as nothing has been done to address their issues. The department is also accused of withholding for over a year a report that Read more >

Covid millions lost to greed, carelessness, and mismanagement

At the beginning of September the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) released its first special report on the management of funds set aside for government’s Covid-19 response. The fiscal relief package was funded reprioritising the 2020-21 budgets and by securing loans. Although, regrettably, the nation fully expected gross misuse and irregularities, the sheer scale of Read more >

Covid-19: rude awakening to SA’s procurement failures

By Thato Mahlangu South Africans have witnessed in recent months of the Covid-19 pandemic how our procurement policies and laws can create opportunity for corrupt people, including government officials, to steal from the state’s purse. An obvious consequence of this is that the looting hinders the implementation of essential programmes designed to eradicate poverty. In Read more >

Beneficial ownership disclosure will expose procurement crooks

By Cherese ThakurFirst published on amaBhungane Corruption costs lives. This simple truth has been grimly illustrated over the past months of national disaster, where front-line workers have had to brave conditions with insufficient or poor quality personal protective equipment (PPE). Many of these workers have contracted the virus, and some have died. In monetary terms, Read more >

Jiba timeline: where did it all go wrong?

The reported reinstatement of fraud charges against former deputy national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba represents a welcome move towards accountability for those who abuse their high-level positions. It also has important implications for the likes of Malusi Gigaba, who was also found to have lied under oath by denying he had given the Read more >