SA police force featured in new corruption book

South Africa is one of eight emerging nations whose police forces are profiled in a new book titled Police Corruption and Police Reforms in Developing Societies. The volume, edited by Kempe Ronald Hope, Sr., looks at efforts to combat police corruption in Argentina, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Kenya, Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and South Africa, Read more >

Businessman blows the whistle on corrupt officials

These days it’s almost standard practice among those seeking to do business with state departments to pay bribes in order to win lucrative contracts. But there are those who stand up against this unwanted activity – such as businessman Fikile Bili from North West’s Ditsobotla local municipality. He blew the whistle on corrupt government employees Read more >

An action plan for more open government

In part two of our series on the Open Government Partnership (OGP), we take a closer look at South Africa’s action plans – that is, the efforts its government is making to improve openness and transparency. Part one gave an overview of OGP and South Africa’s role in it. The OGP was launched in 2011 Read more >

OGP for transparency and accountability

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) held its second global summit in Mexico from 27 to 29 October 2015 – the first took place in London in 2013. South Africa, which is a founding member of the OGP, attended the gathering. Our new two-part series looks at South Africa’s participation in the OGP process – part Read more >

The power of investigative journalism

Corruption is a crime that goes unnoticed, and often it’s only through the efforts of investigative journalists that such crimes are exposed. Because it’s important for journalists to hone their skills and learn from their peers, Wits University last week hosted the latest edition of Power Reporting 2015 – the African Investigative Journalism Conference. Wits’ Read more >

G20 drops ball on beneficial ownership

The G20 has not delivered on promises to tackle issues of beneficial ownership – this is revealed in a report released on Thursday by Transparency International. In November 2014 the G20 countries – of which South Africa is one – met in Brisbane. Among the topics up for discussion was the question of beneficial ownership. Read more >

Defence anti-corruption index exposes SA weaknesses

Ahead of the G20 summit, which this year takes place in Antalya, Turkey, on 15 and 16 November, Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme has launched the results of the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) for these states, including South Africa. The GI measures the risk of corruption in national defence and security establishments Read more >

CW report results in new policy for principals

Corruption Watch’s work is never-ending – every day, it seems, there is something new to be concerned about. But there are also times when we can proudly say that our efforts are making a real impact – such as yesterday, when Gauteng’s education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced that principals at schools in the province would Read more >

Anti-corruption unit arrest rate down 83%

The Ministry of Police has confirmed that the number of arrests and convictions relating to serious crime has dropped sharply since the launch of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations – better known as the Hawks – in 2009. This is according to information obtained in a reply to a parliamentary question put forward in Read more >