CORRUPTION NEWS

What’s the real cost of corruption – part one

By Lorraine Louw It’s easy to point to the losers when it comes to government corruption – that would be the residents and citizens. It is much more difficult to quantify the actual cash lost, with various government departments and entities, as well as political parties and NGOs, turning out their own figures. In October Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

How much corporate fraud is costing SA

Corporate fraud could be causing the country losses of about R150-billion, the audit firm BDO reported in May 2012. It was citing figures from the 2012 Report on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, prepared by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. An analysis of more than 1 300 fraud cases probed worldwide showed that the estimated loss Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Parastatals in the grip of graft

Airports, water boards, harbours and power utilities all play a vital role in South Africa’s economy, but what happens when staff at these state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rig multibillion-rand tenders or dish out jobs to their ill-suited friends and family? In this feature, we examine the dozens of tip-offs we’ve received about this kind of corruption Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Decoding the culture of corruption

By Kavisha Pillay South Africa has always been a melting pot of many cultures. Its ethnic diversity has contributed to the colourful rainbow nation, and has led to tolerance of difference. Culture is part of our daily lives; it contributes to our behaviour patterns, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. But one culture Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

A bad smell at Pikitup

The rot runs deep at Pikitup, where the managing director, Amanda Nair, is our zero of the week. Trips overseas, awarding contracts to dodgy companies, and then trying to clear Pikitup’s name in newspaper advertisements all add to the stench of corruption hanging over the company. This is what The Star reported on 7 June Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

School heads in the firing line yet again

Here’s a snapshot of some of the schools incidents* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: principals exposed again, this time for nepotism, keeping teachers in the dark about school finances, and taking money meant for paying a school’s utility bill. Principal Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Political barons demanding tjo-tjo from elderly!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the corruption incidents* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: nepotism and bribery the order of the day at education departments and political barons in a certain township taking advantage of elderly residents desperate for RDP Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

The psychology of corruption

By Kavisha Pillay It is said that everyone has their price, but what makes a cop accept a bribe, a procurement officer dish out a tender to his friend, or a school governing body cook the institution’s books? Clinical psychologist Dr Giada Del Fabbro, criminologist Dr Elisabeth Grobler, and Rhodes University organisational psychology lecturer Alwyn Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

R1.5bn construction fines: ‘graft has consequences’

By Valencia Talane Large companies hoping to do work with government in future will have to heed a stern warning from the Competition Commission, which today slapped 15 construction firms with penalties amounting to R1.5-billion for tender-rigging and collusion for projects done between 2006 and 2010. Read the full press release here. The value of Read more >