By Bekezela Phakathi There is no rational explanation why Communications Minister Faith Muthambi and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) executives are intent on defending chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng at all costs, other than contempt for the public protector. The ink had hardly dried on the ruling by the High Court in Cape Town setting Read more >
CORRUPTION SNAPSHOTS
G20 countries failing to fight corruption – $2tn laundered yearly As much as $2-trillion is laundered every year, mostly through the hiding of company ownership behind “opaque structures”, with G20 countries not doing enough to prevent corruption. This was according to the Reviewing G20 promises on beneficial ownership report, which was released to coincide with Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Presenting his audit report on provincial and national departments last year, auditor-general (AG) Kimi Makwetu said that wasteful expenditure and the flouting of procurement processes in government will continue because there are simply no consequences for errant officials who abuse systems without shame. This year, he said much the same thing. Presenting his audit report Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
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 >
HEROES & ZEROES
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 >
CORRUPTION NEWS
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 >
CORRUPTION NEWS
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 >
CORRUPTION NEWS
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 >
CORRUPTION NEWS
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 >