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Investigator’s testimony fingers Zuma, Shaik

By Lee-Ann Alfreds President Jacob Zuma received “financial benefit” from the arms deal. And there was “prima facie” evidence of corruption involving the president and related to the deal, the Arms Procurement Commission heard last month. Testifying on 18 and 19 May before the enquiry which is investigating allegations of fraud and corruption in South Read more >

Madonsela responds to Nhleko’s Nkandla report

Source: Public Protector The public protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, notes police minister Nathi Nhleko’s report to Parliament on the security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. She is of the view that Minister Nhleko gave the matter his best and that he applied his mind to the issues at hand. The Read more >

Corruption lower on Sona agenda than before

Delivering what is arguably his most anticipated State of the Nation Address (Sona) to date, President Jacob Zuma on Thursday dithered around the topic that has many South Africans concerned about the future of his government: corruption. On several occasions he referred to achievements of government that translate into a “good story to tell” for Read more >

Dropped charges confirm Guptagate scapegoating

The South African National Defence Force’s recent withdrawing of charges against the two officers that it implicated in the investigation into the Gupta aircraft that landed at Waterkloof Air Force base in 2013 confirms that they were chosen as scapegoats, and that the charges were designed to deflect attention from President Zuma’s role in securing Read more >

And our hero and zero for 2014 are …

The votes are in, they have been tallied, and we are ready to announce the hero(es) and zero of the year for 2014. With 46% of the votes, our heroes are the three arms deal critics – Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Andrew van Vuuren – who withdrew from the Arms Deal Commission in protest Read more >

Getting to the root of foreign bribery

“In order to fight corruption and win, we have to know our enemy,” reads the introduction to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) inaugural report on foreign bribery, released on 2 December. “Until now, there have been very few successful attempts to measure this complex and covert crime. We have been fighting in Read more >

Nkandla SMS initiative set up

By Janine Erasmus Accountability (noun): the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility (Oxford). If the Public Members Unit Team (PMUT) has its way, South Africans will be paying for the R247-million upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla residence not once – but twice. And Number One won’t bear the burden of accountability any Read more >

Chippy Shaik to testify at Seriti Commission

By Lee-Ann Alfreds         HE’S the umpteenth witness to be called, and the first since the Arms Procurement Commission was stunned by critic Hennie van Vuuren’s refusal to testify. But Shamim “Chippy” Shaik is no hors d'oeuvre. He is in fact, critics argue, the main course – the “key figure” in the subversion and manipulation of Read more >

South Africa’s new struggle – Makgoba

The "insidious cancer of corruption" is "the most egregious threat" to South Africa's democracy today, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said in Port Elizabeth on Monday evening. Corruption goes against every principle of democracy, he said. "Corruption contaminates, pollutes and degrades our Constitution. In behavioural terms, if you are pro-democracy, you must also be anti-corruption. If Read more >