Posts

IEC now seeks to have lease set aside

In the same week of the deadline for nominations for the replacement of former Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Pansy Tlakula, the matter of the lease contract that got her in trouble was entering the court space once more. The IEC wants the North Gauteng high court to set aside the R320-million lease agreement that Read more >

Karoo town speaks out on corruption

By Jennifer Cohen In the small Karoo village of Prince Albert, sitting quietly at the foot of the Swartberg mountains, Every Voice Matters.   Or so residents have come to believe. After a dream convinced her, Hélène Smit, director of Depth Leadership Trust, decided to engage people living there, asking them, “If your voice could Read more >

Corruption is also a crime, SAPS

Back in September 2012, when Corruption Watch had only been existence for a few months, the organisation expressed concerns over the lack of attention to fraud and corruption-related crimes in the annual crime statistics released by the ministry of police. There was simply no breakdown of information relating to these crimes, despite numerous warnings from Read more >

Public Works comes clean on misuse of public funds

The Department of Public Works has confirmed extensive misuse of public funds within its ranks – at a media briefing last week, Minister Thulas Nxesi said that investigations had uncovered a shocking R35-billion in wasteful expenditure, some of it going back 13 years. Public Works (DPW) is responsible for managing the accommodation needs of government Read more >

Dear Mr President

Dear Mr President I first wrote to you in 2012 asking you to take responsibility for your allegedly corrupt actions. Since then there’s been Guptagate, Public Protector spats, employment opportunities for your family, and Nkandlagate. You have operated with impunity, shifting the blame and avoiding responsibility. I know this letter will cause many to think Read more >

Corruption: We’re gatvol

By Sipho Masondo First published in City Press Until it becomes “embarrassing to be caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar”, South Africa is never going to beat corruption. This is according to a Durban civil servant, who’s among the 70% of South Africans who don’t believe we’ll ever stop corruption, new research by Read more >

Can you be both loyal and honest?

By Janine Erasmus Part one of our series defined the practises of nepotism, cronyism, patronage and cadre deployment, and discussed their effect on the ethics culture generally. In the second and final part we deal with the dilemma of loyalty vs honesty, and explain why appointing unsuitable people can end up costing a lot of Read more >

It’s not what you know, but …

By Janine Erasmus Nepotism, cadre deployment, patronage, cronyism – we hear those terms often, but what do they mean, not just literally, but for South Africa? Why are these practices so harmful, especially in the public sector? Read our new two-part series to better understand the consequences of not employing the right person for the Read more >

Civil society asks for dissolution of arms commission

More than 30 local social justice organisations, including Corruption Watch, have issued a joint call for real arms deal accountability. Read their statement below: The 1999 arms deal represents up to R70-billion that should have been spent on housing, education, health and South Africa’s other pressing social needs. The arms deal corrupted our politics, weakened Read more >