DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

When ‘acting’ is mere subterfuge

Dear Corruption Watch, We read a lot about jobs for pals in the public service. Some of these are ‘acting appointments’ that seem to last forever. I have reason to believe that many are made to circumvent the full hiring process, which opens up these appointments to corruption. Are there limitations to the length of Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Golden rules for clean schools

Dear Corruption Watch I am a parent who is a member of the school governing body (SGB) at my child’s high school. I also serve as its secretary. We run various fund-raising projects through the course of the year and receive donations from local businesses. However, the principal of the school never accounts for the Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Can the government use PAIA as a barrier?

I am a journalist interested in the Manase report detailing massive fraud and corruption in Durban’s eThekwini municipality. I received a press statement from KwaZulu-Natal’s cooperative governance MEC in June announcing that the local government would release the full report – but further down the statement it tells the media to apply for it through Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Well-run tender processes foster transparency

Dear Corruption Watch A lot of corruption seems to involve tenders. Is the government always required to put out a tender when it procures goods and services, or does it have other options? What circumstances have to be present for it to bypass the tender route? Worried Dear Worried Competitive procurement is a requirement in Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Punishment for corruption must be enforced

Dear Corruption Watch, Whenever somebody gets convicted of corruption in South Africa, they seem to get off with a light sentence. Schabir Shaik was only in prison for a few months and Jackie Selebi too. Why do they get such small punishments? What should the punishments be for corruption? Yours, Feeling punitive Dear Punitive, The Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Water licencing process must be transparent

Dear Corruption Watch, And now water licencing and fracking. We've seen the abuse of power, delays and market uncertainty caused by mining licencing, will this be more of the same? The multiple water licencing requirements will open up the opportunity for bribery or extortion in the fracking application process. And the auditor general discovered considerable Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Bringing down corrupt professionals

Dear Corruption Watch, We are often told that an effective remedy would be to place firms who engage in criminal or ethically suspect conduct on one of the various official blacklists that prevent them from doing further business with the state. But what about professionals like doctors, nurses, lawyers, auditors and engineers? Members of these Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Don’t bow to bribery demands from officials

Dear Corruption Watch, A mining house in Kenya is considering bringing a bribery case to the International Chamber of Commerce. They allege that they were asked to pay just under $1 million to reverse a suspension of its mining licence. The company claims the suspension was politically motivated. Is this common in the mining industry? Read more >

OPINIONS

Tlakula is missing the point

By Nicola Whittaker Recently, the spotlight has been on two pillars of our democracy, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Office of the Public Protector.  At the heart of the fight is a contract entered into by the IEC, now Chaired by Advocate Pansy Tlakula, and Abland (Pty) Ltd for the lease of the Read more >