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For whistle-blowers, there are few rewards but many risks

This piece is extracted from Corruption Watch’s 2021 annual report. For more information, click here. By Moepeng TalaneFirst published on News24 “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything” – a quote attributable to the late Albert Einstein, renowned all over the world Read more >

Be an active citizen – play your part in advancing effective local governance

Image: Edward Middleton, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license Source: CoGTA The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) reiterates the call for active citizen participation in local government. To have a meaningful impact on how your municipality is run, you need to understand the processes involved. This guide explains Read more >

‘Why does no one care about us?’ ask NW mining communities

Image: Centre for Environmental Rights By Matshidiso DibakwaneFirst published in City Press After receiving a number of reports from mining-affected communities in the North West, Corruption Watch undertook to advocate for the release of the Mafereka commission report, which has not seen the light of day, years after its submission to the premier’s office. The Read more >

Transparency demanded in mining community commission reports

Photo: James Oatway for the Centre for Environmental Rights By Matshidiso Dibakwane First published in The Star Despite several commissions of inquiry set up both at national and provincial level to investigate and establish lawful traditional leaders in terms of customary law and the Constitution, mining communities in the North West still await justice. Although Read more >

NW silence on Mafereka report infuriates mining communities

Sibanye-Stillwater mine in Marikana, in the North West. Photo: Sibanye-Stillwater. By Kwazi Dlamini The mineral-rich Bapo Ba Mogale community in the North West (NW) is still looking for answers from the premier’s office regarding the delayed release of the report of the Mafereka Commission of Inquiry. The final report was handed to then premier Thandi Read more >

Local govt going back to basics

The second presidential local government summit (PLGS) promised action in transforming the performance of municipalities from mediocre, in many cases, to excellent, and ensuring that efficient municipalities remain that way. Ministers, premiers, mayors, executive mayors, municipal managers, speakers, chief whips, technical officers, traditional leaders, and other senior local government officials convened in Midrand on 18 Read more >

Good and bad of audit reports

  By Valencia Talane Depending on which way you look at it, the municipal audit report for the 2012/13 financial year offers either a positive or a miserable outlook for South Africa's local government landscape. The report was published last week by the auditor-general, Kimi Makwetu. As Pravin Gordhan, the minister in charge of local Read more >

Gordhan questions the rules

Valencia Talane The one-size-fits-all approach to the governance standards of local government does not work and needs a rethink, according to Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan, who was responding to the latest auditor-general report on municipalities on 30 July, said that the standard requirements for metro municipalities, for example, could not Read more >