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Public service needs a shake-up, Mr President

By Kavisha Pillay In a letter published in The Star newspaper earlier this month, President Jacob Zuma congratulated the public servants of South Africa who, he said, were improving the country. While it is commendable that many are indeed hard-working and honest individuals who strive to build the nation, the president paints a somewhat fantastical Read more >

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 >

Zuma address: substance lacking

President Jacob Zuma’s 2013 State of the Nation Address, delivered yesterday evening, did not impress much. His message on corruption lacked a critical element of redress – accountability. Zuma did a reasonably good job of hailing the work done by those organs of state tasked with fighting the corruption that has worried many South Africans Read more >

Zuma gives updates on SIU probes progress

South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit, one of the bodies that potentially has real teeth to tackle corruption, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons lately: it’s been without a permanent head for the last 10 months amid allegations of bitter infighting and poor performance. We’ll bring you a more detailed account of its ill-health Read more >

Post shuffling at NPA, SIU frustrating corruption fight

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has denied that Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, head of NPA’s Pretoria Commercial Crimes Unit, has been suspended.   The authority said on Friday 17 February 2012 that it was waiting for her response to the charges before deciding how to proceed.   A statement by NPA executive manager of communications Bulelwa Read more >