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Whistleblowers: ordinary people turned heroes

Today, 9 December, is International Anti-Corruption Day. The day aims to raise public awareness of corruption and what people can do to fight it. This year’s theme is Zero Corruption – 100% Development, meaning that corruption is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, because it diverts funds away from desperately needed facilities and Read more >

Whistleblower’s killers get bail for now: here’s why

By Corruption Watch reporter The two men convicted of murdering Rustenburg councillor and corruption whistleblower Moss Phakoe in 2012 are out on bail after new evidence emerged and their application for leave to appeal was granted. Corruption Watch looks at the legal processes at play here and asks the National Prosecuting Authority for an explanation. Read more >

Access to information Act ‘failing’

South Africa’s access-to-information provisions appear to be failing as two out of three formal requests for information are refused, says Right2Know in its recently released Secret State of the Nation report, detailing the state of secrecy and openness in the country. “If compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) is a litmus Read more >

Putting a lid on explosive tender rot

By David Ondráčka When the phone rang, it was clear the caller was scared. He worked in the government, he said. He had information on a huge public tender that he needed to share. He had tried to complain to his superiors about the bidding process, but they had rebuffed his allegations. Now he wanted Read more >

New guide to boost whistleblowing at work

The fight against corruption relies heavily on employees being vigilant and standing up for their rights, but these employees need support – especially when their disclosure could make them vulnerable to discrimination or victimisation. A solution comes in the form of a recently produced manual by the Open Democracy Advice Centre (Odac), which advises shop Read more >

Samwu in North West downs tools over corruption

More than 3 000 municipal workers marched against ongoing corruption in the Bojanala Region, Rustenburg, in North West today. News reports just in confirm that 50 people, who infiltrated the mass action, were arrested under the Regulation of Gatherings Act. “They were isolated and arrested when union leaders alerted the police that a group had Read more >

Rethinking procurement to fight corruption

To combat corruption, the government and private industry have to change their models of supply change management, according to procurement experts. They were in Johannesburg on 4 October to inaugurate the government’s recognition of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). Procurement, the buying of a good or service, is a contentious issue in Read more >

Unpacking SA’s education crisis – part six

In this, our sixth and final instalment on the unfolding education saga, we ask what lessons have been learned from the Limpopo textbook crisis to avoid a similar breakdown in the future, both from the government’s perspective and civil society. We look at systematic problems in the education system that affected the Eastern Cape, as Read more >

National crime stats don’t help corruption fight

The national crime statistics released in parliament today do not provide the information necessary to strengthen the fight against corruption. Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said that it appeared that the crime statistics categorise much of the reporting of corruption as common fraud.  However, it is essential to isolate those reports of white collar Read more >