HEROES & ZEROES

PAIA proves its worth

By Valencia Talane The true value of the Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) as a tool for democracy emerged this week when 15 organisations – among them media houses – received the long-awaited Manase report, which details corruption worth hundreds of millions of rand in eThekwini Municipality. The groups had applied for the report Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Procurement corruption rampant in schools

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: a power struggle at a school that resulted in a corrupt principal being appointed; a deputy principal at a college buying expensive software that never materialised; Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Traffic tjo-tjo and HR nepotism on the increase

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: a jobs-for-friends scheme by a senior HR manager, bribes in exchange for test passes at a certain Gauteng traffic department, a Harley Davidson biker targeted for Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Collusion is corruption

By David Lewis The past week has been a ­watershed in two related perceptions of corruption in South Africa. The first is that the private sector bears little responsibility for corruption. The second is that no good news regarding corruption ever comes out of the public sector. The notion that the private sector was, at Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Twin heroes set the standard

By Valencia Talane Our joint heroes for this week are Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the Competition Commission – both have recently taken swift and effective action against matters affecting the integrity of our nation, showing that unethical behaviour and corrupt scheming do have real consequences. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has set high standards for Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

The trouble in Tlokwe: latest developments

Fourteen councillors in North West’s troubled Tlokwe municipality have been reinstated by the ANC after being dismissed in July. A provincial disciplinary committee had found them guilty of misconduct after they participated in a vote of no confidence against former mayor Maphetle Maphetle, in November 2012. The vote was prompted by allegations of corruption against Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Gordhan sets a standard for all to uphold

Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan has shown that it is possible to hold those in public office to the highest standards of accountability and protect the integrity of public office and institutions. He has acted swiftly, professionally and transparently, in a manner that befits his high office and that of the office of the South Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

The real cost of corruption – part three

By Lorraine Louw In the last of our three-part series on the cost of corruption, we take a closer look at the work of the Special Investigating Unit and the office of the auditor-general in quantifying the lossed incurred by the country annually. According to the SIU’s latest annual report for 2011/12, the president issued Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Corruption Watch joins construction cartel hearings

By Nicky Rehbock Corruption Watch today called for all those affected by the recently exposed collusive tendering in the construction industry – including municipalities, provinces and private entities – to institute civil claims for damages suffered. This was made in a submission by the organisation to the Competition Tribunal for the hearings into the R1.46-billion Read more >