HEROES & ZEROES

Papadi Makhetha: housing’s anti-fraud champion

By Janine Erasmus To date Corruption Watch has received around 170 reports of alleged corruption in the housing sector – the majority from Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. Gauteng’s metropolitan municipality of Ekurhuleni has the most complaints, followed by the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town. Gauteng has the greatest demand for government housing Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Gauteng human settlements dept to improve

By Valencia Talane In the first part of our housing series we outlined some of the corruption-related challenges faced by the national Department of Human Settlements in meeting its mandate – in part two we look at the proposed measures that will help to overcome these challenges. Gauteng's department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Madonsela, Muthambi see eye to eye

Source: Public protector The public protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, and the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, met in Pretoria on Wednesday, 20 August 2014. The meeting was in connection with the investigation into the alleged irregular appointment of the controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng as permanent COO of the SABC, as well as other matters of mutual Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

President Zuma a key hurdle to fighting corruption

President Zuma’s response to Parliament regarding the R200-million upgrade is yet another demonstration of his disturbingly low commitment to fighting corruption in South Africa. “While we don't think that history is made by individuals, President Zuma’s personal conduct has clearly become a major obstacle to fighting corruption,” said David Lewis, executive director of Corruption Watch. Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Press freedom crucial to fighting corruption

Media freedom in South Africa is increasingly threatened and an urgent intervention is needed to deal with the declining independence of the press. This was the general feeling shared by delegates at the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) media freedom symposium, held last Thursday, 14 August, in Johannesburg. The prevalence of corruption is linked to Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Protector to work more closely with state

On 14 August the public protector launched her annual stakeholder dialogue, with the aim this year of building stronger working relations between her office and other organs of state. The 2014 theme is Joining hands in a partnership against maladministration and corruption. Speaking at the Wits Business School, Thuli Madonsela remarked that the timing of Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Free speech versus respectful criticism

Dear Corruption Watch, The public protector, like so many political figures, endures name-calling and occasionally vicious attacks. Is she able, like a judge, to charge her detractors with contempt? Concerned Dear Concerned, The legislature has given public protector statutory protection against such attacks. Contempt of the public protector is an offence. The Public Protector Act Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Putting consumers in danger

Our zeroes this week are the well-known retail food stores involved in the food label scandal – amounting to abuse of power and position – that broke this week. Earlier this week media reported on an investigation by the National Consumer Commission – an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry – that exposed Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Nkandla: Zuma’s report four months late

President Jacob Zuma has submitted his long-overdue response to the public protector’s Nkandla report. When Thuli Madonsela released her final report in March, she stipulated that Zuma must respond to the National Assembly within 14 days – he did not. Initially Zuma had said he would wait for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to finalise Read more >