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RAISING AWARENESS

Nation waits for Seriti report

The Arms Procurement Commission, also known as the Seriti Commission, submitted its final report covering four years of proceedings, just before the end of 2015. The deadline for the report’s submission was 31 December 2015, and the commission filed it on the 30th. At the start hopes were high that together, the witnesses would finally Read more >

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Civil society victory as Alderman steps down

Corruption Watch, with five other organisations, last week wrote an open letter to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to express disappointment that Richard Alderman would sit on the high-level advisory panel reviewing OECD efforts on bribery. Their voices did not go unheard – the Financial Times reports today that Alderman, a former Read more >

RAISING AWARENESS

Arms suppliers deny bribery and corruption

By Lee-Ann Alfreds A German arms company did not pay a bribe to arms acquisition chief Chippy Shaik to ensure they won the tender to supply four frigates to the South African Navy. Testifying before the Arms Procurement Commission, Klaus Wiercimok, senior in-house attorney for ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, denied the company had paid US$3-million to Read more >

RAISING AWARENESS

Young confident of arms commission impact

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Richard Young is nothing if not dogged. For he has been like a dog with a bone in trying to shine a light on the goings-on in South Africa’s strategic defence procurement package, better known as the arms deal. His efforts to get to the truth include successfully suing the government for Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Arms deal critics are not the ones on trial

By Lee-Ann Alfreds He is prepared to face the consequences of his actions – which include being jailed – as he genuinely believed he had no other choice. These were the sentiments of arms deal critic Hennie van Vuuren, after he refused to testify at the Arms Procurement Commission. Explaining his decision, which sent shockwaves Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Respond to subpoena, or face criminal charges

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Will they or won’t they? That is the question as the rumbling around the credibility of the Arms Procurement Commission becomes a roar. Will arms deal critics Hennie van Vuuren, Andrew Feinstein and Paul Holden appear before the commission as they have been ordered to do – or will they obey their Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Woods: there is a “high probability” of corruption

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Gavin Woods epitomises the saying “when his country called, he answered”. Fourteen years after his and co-chairman of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Andrew Feinstein’s, harrowing attempts to discover the truth behind allegations of corruption in the arms deal, the former IFP member is once again trying to help uncover the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Seriti Commission not fair or consistent

By Lee-Ann Alfreds The withdrawal of arms deal critics Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren from the Arms Procurement Commission was not surprising in light of the unfair treatment meted out to detractors who have participated in proceedings. This was the unanimous verdict of civil society organisations and arms deal and constitutional experts Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Commission not going to fulfil its mandate?

By Lee-Ann Alfreds THE Arms Procurement Commission is a “waste of taxpayers’ money”. Speaking on Friday 29 August, a day after he and fellow critics Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren announced they were withdrawing from the inquiry, Andrew Feinstein said while they had “really wanted this commission to work”, they had concluded they could Read more >