HEROES & ZEROES

When public service and business collide

Gauteng speaker Lindiwe Maseko’s recent comments to media that she declared her financial interests, and that she does not believe there is a conflict in her daughter catering for a legislature function, has raised the ire of political parties and civil society. Most politicians declare their financial interests comfortable in the knowledge that the information Read more >

CORRUPTION SNAPSHOTS

Corruption snapshot: 23 February – 1 March

Corruption hits SA’s governance ranking Increasing perceptions of corruption have knocked South Africa from the top slot in the UBS Governance Rank, which measures corporate governance perceptions in 44 global emerging markets, it was recently reported in Business Report.   The UBS research cautions that a continuation of this trend could threaten South Africa’s safe Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Spotlight on SA’s key metro police chiefs

By Chantelle Benjamin  Calls have been made by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) for the resignation or redeployment of two of the country’s key metro police heads – Johannesburg’s Chris Ngcobo, and eThekwini’s Eugene Nzama – over use of public money and doubt about their leadership. They are not the first metro police chiefs Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Don’t be intimidated by police – know your rights

By Zaheer Cassim It’s Friday evening, close to midnight. Aislinn Laing is in the car with her husband and her mother-in-law. Laing and her family are from England and are driving in a rental vehicle through Parkview, one of Johannesburg’s more affluent areas. It’s late and all they want to do is get home. Laing Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Graft report release: eThekwini holds its breath

The eThekwini council is to respond today, Wednesday 29 February 2012, at a council meeting to allegations raised in the Manase and Associates report, which revealed R2.2-billion in irregular expenditure over a three-year period and implicates some high-ranking municipal officials and politicians.    The council was given 21 days to respond to the closely guarded 700-page Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

More clout needed for local govt watchdogs

Municipal public accounts committees (MPACs) are being presented as one of government’s most important tools in the fight against poor financial management and accountability at local level, but so far only 101 of 272 municipalities have set these up despite a November 2011 deadline.   Cash-strapped Limpopo had set up two MPACs by October 2011, Read more >

CORRUPTION SNAPSHOTS

Corruption snapshot: 16 – 23 February

Zuma gets serious about graft, DA’s response President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation debate reply that the South African government takes the fight against crime and corruption extremely seriously, adding that the Anti-Corruption Task Team is successfully tackling graft in both the public and private sectors. Zuma said the Anti-Corruption Task Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Budget tackles procurement, lease deals head-on

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s plans to fight corruption in state procurement and review all property leases was welcomed by political parties and labour, following the unveiling of South Africa’s R1-trillion budget on Wednesday 22 February 2012. Corruption in procurement and questionable leasing deals are costing government billions annually. Just the two police headquarter leases, for Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Transparency International: Corruption perceptions index, 2011

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to perceived levels of public-sector corruption. It gives scores to 183 countries with 10 being “clean” and 0 being “highly corrupt”. The 2011 Index ranks New Zealand (9.5), Denmark (9.4) and Finland (9.4) top the list, with North Korea and Somalia at the bottom, both with a Read more >