DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Ways to avoid Christmas hiccups

Dear Corruption Watch, Friends of mine recently had their vehicle stopped at night by police officials. Their children were in the back seat. The police officials threatened to arrest my friends for drunk driving although they were perfectly sober. They felt that their car had been selected for intimidation because the police knew they wouldn’t Read more >

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Using a minnow to nail a shark

Dear Corruption Watch, I would like to understand more about plea bargaining, which doesn't seem to serve justice. Former police commissioner Jackie Selebi was corrupted by Glenn Agliotti, who then got off in exchange for ratting on Selebi. Why is it so difficult to get sufficient evidence of a conspiracy without an informant, and why Read more >

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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 >

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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 >

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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 >

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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 >

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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 >

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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 >

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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 >