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Policy brief: Strengthening Public Accountability to make Democracy Work

By William GumedeFirst published on Democracy Works Foundation The lack of accountability at all levels of legislatures, government, and oversight agencies is at the heart of persistent poor public services, financial mismanagement, and corruption in South Africa. As the Zondo Commission into state capture winds down, a trend running through almost all testimonies is the Read more >

How civil society has strengthened SA’s democracy

By William Gumede First published on Democracy Works The impact of having a robust civil society in South Africa has played a critical role in creating a vibrant democratic culture and addressing the gap between the state and local communities. This policy brief examines the successes and challenges in furthering engagement, holding public officials accountable Read more >

Civil society must rise to the occasion

Civil society organisations (CSOs) come in many forms, some informal and some formal. The latter include non-governmental organisations, community based organisations, or faith-based organisations, among others. They represent a group of individuals who come together for a common purpose, as in to fulfil a particular mandate driven by need. In a policy brief titled Strengthening Read more >

Don’t let corruption in SA become normalised

It is not true that corruption has no victims, writes William Gumede, associate professor at Wits University’s School of Governance. Rather, it causes “disastrously inefficient economic, social and political outcomes” – among others, it diverts public resources from critical development projects to less productive, less job creation and less growth spurring ones, discourages long-term investment, Read more >