When optics trump governance, it’s the poor that suffer

By Marianne Merten In his third address to a joint sitting of Parliament — others were on gender-based violence (2019), and South Africa’s economic reconstruction and recovery (2020) — President Cyril Ramaphosa left more questions and answers on the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods. No details emerged on the R1-billion Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had publicly talked Read more >

SA’s growing distrust with govt: We’ve been failed over and over

Image: Flickr/GovernmentZA By Karam Singh Corruption remains one of the fault line issues in South Africa – if not the main one. Even in this time of natural disaster and tragic devastation that Mother Nature reaped on unprepared and unprotected communities, our thoughts turn quickly to corruption and how corrupt officials, politicians, their criminal connections Read more >

Making a racket – about
racketeering

By Tharin Pillay Racketeering enterprises tend to fall under the radar of most South Africans, but they are as damaging and serious as any other form of organised crime. To respond to this, we must make use of legal tools adapted to grappling with the problem. Pushing for racketeering prosecutions is a start. When I Read more >

SA politicians once again commit a crime against humanity

Image: Flickr/GovernmentZA First published on Daily Maverick When devastating floods struck KwaZulu-Natal on 11 April, South Africans’ first response was to commiserate with their compatriots. Their next response was to warn against giving a cent to the government and loudly proclaim that their donations were going to organisations like the Gift of the Givers.  It’s Read more >

Party funding act, barely a year old, already under threat

By Kwazi Dlamini Free reign when it comes to political party funding threatens our hard-fought-for democracy in every aspect. While the new Political Party Funding Act (PPFA), promulgated on 1 April 2021, seeks to address the issue of private donors having unfettered power in funding political parties, at the same time there should be alternate Read more >

CW calls for vigilance in administration of KZN flood relief funds

The devastation caused by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) after days of incessant and unprecedented rainfall has exposed the failure of government to protect communities from not only the impact of climate change, but also of inadequate infrastructure and planning to ensure their safety, having failed to learn from similar floods and events in the Read more >

CW’s Project Larona aims to strengthen recognition of land rights

Image: Alliance for Rural Democracy Project Larona [laa-ro-nah]Lefatshe la rona – a Setswana phrase meaning “Our Land” The European Union Rallying Efforts to Accelerate Progress project (EU REAP), a multi-jurisdictional initiative, commenced in July 2021. It is led by the Transparency International Secretariat and funded by the European Commission (EuropeAid). EU REAP focuses on directly Read more >