POLICY AND ADVOCACY

People’s Coalition to address media on raids against foreign nationals

Media Alert Civil society organisations to address media on the ongoing raids targeting foreign nationals Johannesburg, 11 May 2015 – Over the last fortnight we have witnessed human rights violations and arbitrary detentions of primarily foreign nationals under the controversial Operation Fiela-Reclaim, culminating in mass-arrests and detentions in the early hours Friday, 8 May 2015. Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Honest cop nets big fish

Our hero this week is an honest cop who will have nothing to do with corruption. Colonel Hansia Asaram – now Hansraj – heads the Goodwood police station, and it was her diligence in pursuing what she suspected was corruption in the ranks, which led to charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering being laid Read more >

OUTREACH AND EVENTS

TI and CW engage with young corruption busters

Transparency International (TI) and its South African chapter Corruption Watch held a workshop on youth and corruption in Johannesburg in early May. Delegates from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe took part in the discussion, which centred on the goal of building an environment which enables young people to thrive in all facets of society without Read more >

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Civil society victory as Alderman steps down

Corruption Watch, with five other organisations, last week wrote an open letter to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to express disappointment that Richard Alderman would sit on the high-level advisory panel reviewing OECD efforts on bribery. Their voices did not go unheard – the Financial Times reports today that Alderman, a former Read more >

NEWS

Taxpayers paying alleged fraudsters’ legal bills

Our zero this week is the Matjhabeng local municipality in the Free State – not content with spectacularly mismanaging its own budget, the municipality is footing the legal bill for two former MECs who are in court for alleged abuse of public funds. Matjhabeng, according to News24, has never received a clean audit since its Read more >

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Immigrants face a continuing cycle of abuse

By David Lewis First published in City Press The glare from the xenophobic flames burning these past weeks should not blind us to the reality that what we are witnessing is simply a moment in the slow violence to which immigrant communities are subject every day and in every interaction with South African officialdom. After Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Defamation is fine – in Parliament

Dear Corruption Watch, I never thought I'd say this, but watching proceedings in Parliament has become increasingly interesting. That said, I'm sometimes quite alarmed by what the MPs accuse each other of – from suggestions of corruption to calling the president a thief. I thought we had laws protecting people from being defamed. Why doesn't Read more >