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CORRUPTION NEWS

Probe news sparks worry as poor go unpaid

An anonymous source has leaked Corruption Watch the details of a probe that Minister of Cooperative Governance Richard Baloyi plans to launch into the awarding of tenders for the Community Work Programme (CWP), including that won by Mvula Trust. What Corruption Watch finds strange, though, is that the probe is being overseen by an in-house Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Spotlight on Hitachi deal

Dear Corruption Watch,  I see that the performance bonus contract Eskom signed with Alstom for certain work on the Medupi power station has been cancelled, but not with Hitachi in which the ANC's Chancellor House investment arm owns shares. Can Alstom contest this on the basis that it is unfair? What legal options do interested Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Poor hurt most by dodgy procurement

South Africa loses about R25-billion each year to corruption in government procurement – think textbooks not arriving on time at schools, shoddily built RDP houses and tender-rigging. But the real victims are the poor and marginalised, who depend on these procured goods and services. In 2011, Willie Homeyr, then head of the Special Investigating Unit Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Crooks bribe cops – more of your stories!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the corruption reports* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: police officers from an organised crime unit taking bribes from criminals to avoid arrests, home affairs security guards wanting “payment” from foreign nationals, and a Johannesburg Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Mvula Trust scandal: Minister Baloyi changes tack

First there was silence, then denial… Finally, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Richard Baloyi has taken ownership of the Mvula Trust scandal and what it says about government’s multi-billion rand Community Work Programme (CWP). There’s now a full-scale investigation, big promises and, for good measure, a bit of Shakespeare. It took almost two Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

The Arms Procurement Commission so far

In this article Kameel Premhid, Helen Suzman Foundation intern, examines the major issues affecting the Arms Procurement Commission (APC) since its inception. The APC is the first time that the South African government has indicated that there was potential wrongdoing with the infamous Arms Deal. This is the first time that there exists a possibility Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Vavi: show me proof and I’ll step down

Cosatu general secretary and Corruption Watch board member Zwelinzima Vavi has strongly denied reports that he was involved in corrupt dealings relating to the procurement of the federation’s new building. "I will never ever use the powers I have as general secretary of the federation to steal from the very downtrodden members of the federation, Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

CW lauds minister’s action on procurement

Kenneth Brown has been announced as the new chief procurement officer by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan during his budget speech on Wednesday 28 February in Parliament. Brown is currently Treasury's deputy director-general. Corruption Watch welcomes this move, as 22% of the more that 1 300 cases of corruption reported to the organisation by the public Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

New tool to help fight conflict of interest

Dodgy government officials who spend their time running their own businesses instead of helping to run the country will find it increasingly tricky to protect their private projects from public scrutiny, thanks to new tools that have been created to improve the visibility of any conflicts of interest. A new software package, created by six Read more >