MSAA: An Act in good faith, but will it work?

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the long-awaited Municipal Systems Amendment Act (MSAA) into law on 19 August – an important legislative change in the administrative management of local government. The Act seeks to regularise the appointment and performance of municipal managers and the decision-makers around them to ensure cleaner local administrations.   But while political agendas Read more >

Access to info enhanced by AI and e-governance

Image: Unesco On 28 September the world marked the International Day for the Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). This event, established in November 2015 through UN resolution (38 C/70) and first commemorated in 2016, aims to facilitate international discussions on policy and guidelines in this important area.  Access to information plays an important role in Read more >

Mosebenzi Zwane, two others arrested as NPA keeps Guptas in sight

Source: Legalbrief The National Prosecuting Authority is injecting new life into its Estina Dairy Project investigation with yesterday’s arrest of former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Sahara employee Ugeshni Govender and a former director of Islandsite, Ronica Ragavan, as it attempts to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta on the same matter, while targeting other associates linked to the fugitive family, notes Legalbrief. Read more >

From then to now – the heritage of corruption 

By Lesedi Masoko “The existent level of corruption in developing countries across Africa, is high because it is entrenched in its historical roots of colonialism.” This is the view of scholars Luis Angeles and Kyriakos C. Neanidis, written in their 2014 journal article titled The Persistent Effect of Colonialism on Corruption. On this Heritage Day Read more >

Safeguarding our democracy in the age of growing mistrust

Electoral democracy – a democratic government based on a system that enables all citizens to select one candidate from a list of competitors for political office in a process of election. Each citizen becomes a voter who casts a secret ballot indicating their choices. In order for the election to qualify for democratic integrity, the Read more >

SIU to freeze pension benefits of former Lotteries Commission COO

Source: South African government The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has obtained a preservation order from the Special Tribunal to freeze pension benefits of Philemon Letwaba, the former chief operating officer of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC). The Special Tribunal order, dated 16 September 2022, interdicts the Liberty Group — the pension administrator — from paying Read more >

Good governance tied to the realisation of human rights, says Maluleke

The Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) on 19 September hosted a summit titled Good Governance and Accountability in a Disrupted Economy, which focused on catalysing forward-moving processes for accountability and transparency in governance in South Africa. Guest speakers included Prof Mervyn King, author of the four acclaimed King reports on good governance, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke, Read more >

ConCourt confirms exec ethics code invalidity on funding disclosures

The Executive Ethics Code is unconstitutional to the extent that it does not require members of the executive to disclose donations made to campaigns for elections to positions within political parties. This was confirmed in the Constitutional Court on 20 September 2022. Investigative journalism organisation AmaBhungane brought the application to the ConCourt, asking it to Read more >