OPINIONS

A tear in our fabric

By David Lewis Be sure of this: every successive instance of corruption, of which Nkandla is a clear example, tears away at the institutional fabric that holds our country together. The media and the public are focused on calculating the monetary cost of corruption. This is usually a complex task, although in the Nkandla “security Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Party favours at public expense

Dear Corruption Watch, Last week you looked at how public funding designated for elections is monitored, but how can we be sure that political parties do not use other public funds for electioneering? Are ministers, premiers and MECs allowed to use their official cars and helicopters? Can they dispense food bought with public money while Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

How campaign funds are regulated

Dear Corruption Watch, As we head into national elections, I would like to know how public money allocated to political party funding is accounted for. Is it subject to the auditor-general’s scrutiny in the same way as all public funds are? And is there a requirement for the books of a political party to be Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Help for auditors who report crime

Dear Corruption Watch, Internal auditors often have to speak out against corruption and frequently face intimidation in doing so. Is South Africa’s whistleblower framework sufficient to encourage and protect internal auditors as they perform their vital governance functions? Afraid of Bullying Dear Afraid Internal auditors occupy a unique and important position when it comes to Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

You can mount private prosecution

Dear Corruption Watch The Constitutional Court has found that the social grants contract from the South African Social Security Agency granted to Cash Paymaster Services — and challenged by AllPay — was invalid. Its reasoning was partly that irregularities were all too often “symptoms of corruption or malfeasance”. The US criminal justice authorities are investigating Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Blow whistle on border post bribery

Dear Corruption Watch I run a small business that requires some of my employees to drive through border crossings. They are often asked for bribes, but I tell them it is wrong and we should not pay. Last week, late on a Friday, one of my employees called to say he was being threatened with Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Firearm licence a target for graft

Dear Corruption Watch During February 2008, my wife and I obtained the necessary competency certificates and renewed our firearm licences. We were told then that we would not need to repeat any training when we renew our licences again five years later. But when we went to renew our licences in 2013, the South African Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Fighting the good fight

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Their breadth of recall is mind-boggling. Dates, figures, names and irregularities that several official investigations have tried – unsuccessfully – to unravel for over 15 years, these are the details that arms deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne and whistleblower Richard Young readily have at their fingertips. It’s not surprising, though, as both have Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Bribery in a culture of impunity

Dear Corruption Watch Some of my friends say that they have got out of trouble with the police or received improved service from a public servant by offering to pay a bribe. Aren't they committing a criminal offence by doing so? Are they putting themselves at risk? Wrong to Offer Dear Wrong to Offer, The Read more >