Human Settlements moves RDP housing goalposts

John Twala* is a 47-year-old father of two from Johannesburg’s West Rand in Johannesburg who reported a case of suspected illegal occupation of his RDP to Corruption Watch earlier this year. An investigation was launched that has since revealed that although he had been allocated the stand on which the house in question was built, Read more >

Community buy-in is key to successful SGB elections

There are over 24 000 public schools across South Africa, and in just five months, each one will go to the polls to elect school governing bodies (SGBs) to oversee the running of the schools for the next three years.   From 6 to 28 March 2015 the national SGB elections will take place in a 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 >

Arms deal critics are not the ones on trial

By Lee-Ann Alfreds He is prepared to face the consequences of his actions – which include being jailed – as he genuinely believed he had no other choice. These were the sentiments of arms deal critic Hennie van Vuuren, after he refused to testify at the Arms Procurement Commission. Explaining his decision, which sent shockwaves Read more >

High Court judgment will help clarify Protector’s powers

Corruption Watch welcomes the Western Cape High Court decision in the matter between the Democratic Alliance and the SABC, particularly the findings in relation to SABC chairperson Hlaudi Motsoeneng. We are pleased that both Motsoeneng and the SABC board are being held to account for their actions and in some instances, failure to act. More Read more >

Call on government to walk its anti-corruption talk

If the South African government is indeed committed to fighting corruption, the budget allocated to the Office of the Public Protector needs to increase, according to a statement issued today by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). In his medium term budget policy statement in Parliament on 22 October, finance minister Nhlanhla Nene noted that Read more >

Unmask the Corrupt campaign page – South Africa

South Africa, like numerous other countries, has a strong legal framework of anti-corruption laws, but their implementation is not robust, and perpetrators are seldom punished. Those who engage in corruption are easily able to hide their ill-gotten gains in secret companies or those with opaque corporate ownership structures, or by laundering the proceeds into luxury goods Read more >

What’s at the core of the nuclear puzzle?

Dear Corruption Watch, I am confused. I thought that procuring a nuclear power plant required a public tender process, but then the Russian company selling us the goods issues a press release saying it's a done deal? What exactly is the deal? And is it possible or desirable to undertake a procurement exercise on this Read more >