South Africa’s Dr Marianne Camerer – who is also Corruption Watch’s deputy chairperson – is one of the nine distinguished recipients of this year’s Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award. The ACE Award programme supports and inspires efforts in anti-corruption, through awareness, encouragement and challenge.
The Corruption Watch board is delighted to announce the appointment of its new executive director, Lebogang Ramafoko, who will commence her role on 5 January 2026. Lebogang is a veteran in the NGO and social justice sector, and is known as a leading feminist, activist and visionary leader, as well as a seasoned development, gender, and social justice expert. She has headed organisations such as Soul City Institute, Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity in South Africa, and Oxfam South Africa.
Under pressure from corporate giants and the super-rich, governments have programmed tax and financial systems to prioritise the wealthiest over everybody else, wiring financial secrecy and tax havens into the core of the global economy, says the Tax Justice Network. The organisation recently released the 2025 edition of its State of Tax Justice report, which shows that justice is unattainable for many countries which continue to be cheated out of tax revenue by conniving corporates and greedy governments.
Corruption Watch’s interim leaders Lord Ntambw and Moira Campbell reflect on the year that was 2025, in this letter to the organisation’s supporters – and make an exciting announcement.
An accountable government with a reliable criminal justice system is something all South Africans should work towards, because the corruption-free country we all wish for can only be achieved by all of society working together. This is what SAAC co-ordinator Bongani Mbokwana told his community in Bizana on International Anti-Corruption Day.
This year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated every year on 9 December, takes place – as it did in 2024 – under the theme Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity. The theme highlights the vital role young people play in the fight against corruption and their potential to become powerful agents of change as the world strives for a future that runs on integrity rather than corruption.
On 28 November the Independent Electoral Commission briefed the parliamentary portfolio committees on Home Affairs and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on preparations and increasing readiness for the 2026 local government elections. The commission addressed challenges such as voter apathy, the spread of disinformation, and technical problems, and shared the measures taken so far and that would be taken to combat these.
The newly green-lighted parliamentary committee on the Presidency will enable the National Assembly to scrutinise the Presidency’s operations and budget. This, says Parliament, will be the first time such scrutiny will be available through a dedicated, rule-based structure, as the Presidency’s budget was heretofore the only national budget not overseen by a committee.
Corruption Watch has successfully lobbied the Department of Justice to publish the CVs of the six candidates for national director of public prosecutions. The department is in search of a successor to Shamila Batohi, who retires in January 2026, and had revealed the shortlisted candidates but had neglected to publish their CVs to enable the public to meaningfully engage with and comment on them.