Posts

CW health sector report reveals toll on our most vulnerable

Corruption Watch, in a report released today, points to the devastating impact of corruption on the lives of people reliant on receiving basic healthcare services from public health facilities in South Africa. The report is titled X-Ray:  The critical state of the health sector in SA. This impact, says the organisation, is intensified in the Read more >

Lottery fraud, corruption allegations to be probed

• A person ticks numbers on a lottery ticket. Image: Ashraf Hendricks. By Thato Mahlangu Parliament said on Wednesday 11 March 2020 that its trade and industry portfolio committee welcomes an investigation to uncover any fraud or corruption related to community organisation or non-governmental organisation funding. Freelance journalist Raymond Joseph has alleged that the National Read more >

Nair’s Pikitup job trashed – MD fired

Some time ago we reported on the shady goings-on at Pikitup, and mentioned that the entity’s board had decided to institute disciplinary proceedings against its MD Amanda Nair. Nair had been involved in several controversies including an irregular R260-million tender awarded to a company which had previous negative findings against it in a forensic investigation. Read more >

Rent-seeking is gobbling up our economy

By William Gumede First published in Mail & Guardian South Africa is increasingly becoming a “rent-seeking” society in which the politically connected make easy money without having to work for it: they get government and private sector contracts, mining rights and favourable policies just because of their closeness to the ANC leadership. Although rent-seeking may, 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 >

SA mining at high risk for corruption

The spotlight is again on South Africa’s mining sector, this time with corruption in the sector under discussion, in the context of the country’s tardiness in prosecuting foreign corruption cases. This lack of action was pointed out in a March 2014 report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The document, Phase Read more >

Corruption challenges are different for small companies

By Janine Erasmus Big corporates have systems in place, personnel and financial resources to deal with legal and ethical challenges. They can absorb both planned and unexpected costs, including those related to corruption, with relative ease. But what if you are running a small business – how easy is it to stick to your standards, Read more >

Good business ethics should be second nature

By Janine Erasmus Part two of our private sector anti-corruption series profiles a one-woman company that works in the private and public spheres to strengthen ethical cultures in the workplace. Cynthia Schoeman believes that in South Africa there is a growing sense of the importance of a strong ethical culture. Compliance with anti-corruption regulations is Read more >