HEROES & ZEROES

A shot in the arm for anti-corruption

A local hospital has taken action against 17 officials suspected of nepotism, by suspending them. Although the officials have yet to be found guilty, we applaud the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, located near Ga-Rankuwa north of Pretoria, for taking this bold step, which will send out a clear message that such activity will not Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

State of the Nation 2014

President Jacob Zuma delivered his last State of the Nation speech as head of the current government, on 13 February. There has been a mixed reaction to the address, with some analysts saying that it focused very much on the past, rather than looking ahead – this was expected to some extent. However, 2014 does Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Billions of taxpayers’ rands down the drain again

Our zeroes today are the government departments whose disregard of taxpayers’ money has seen billions of it going down the drain in 2013. The press has been buzzing with reports of the new auditor-general Thembekile "Kimi" Makwetu's recent presentation before Parliament’s public accounts committee Scopa. In it he revealed that wasteful expenditure by government entities totalled Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Excessive force not always necessary

Our zeroes this week are the police officers who assaulted and arrested a Daily Sun journalist for taking photos of officers allegedly involved in soliciting bribes. They also jailed him, and when he got his cellphone back the pictures had been deleted. The officers have denied all the allegations but we have to ask: why Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Shady past, good job

​Our zero this week is the government, for not living up to claims of fighting corruption. This week it appointed a new mayoral committee member in Madibeng municipality – and he was previously one of the guilty parties in the Travelgate scandal of 2006/2006. The thieves – MPs and travel agents – ran a scam involving fraudulent travel arrangements Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Corruption hinders SA’s economic freedom

The 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, published recently by Washington’s Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, shows that corruption in South Africa is having an impact on economic freedom in the country. The index probes 10 freedoms in 186 countries and for the 2014 survey, most data covers the second half of 2012 Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Off the hook – for now

Our zeroes this week are the state investigators who, by failing to meet a deadline to submit results of a forensic investigation to the Durban Commercial Crimes Court, forfeited their fraud and corruption case, and probably the taxpayer's money, against Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane. It remains to be seen whether or not the National Prosecuting Authority Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

NW premier driving up costs

Our first zero for the year is North West premier Thandi Modise, whose purchase of a R1.3-million luxury car has outraged citizens. In October 2013 finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced a range of measures aimed at curbing excessive public spending – the buying of cars was included in his anti-spending strategy. Modise bought a swanky Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

The rise of civil society groups in Africa

By André-Michel Essoungou, The Africa Report In recent years, civil society groups have become major actors in the fight against corruption, both nationally and on the global stage. Under the glaring sun of a recent Monday, an unusual group of protesters marched on the streets of Kampala, Uganda's capital. All dressed in black "to mourn Read more >