The days of corona – when simply walking is risky
Walking home one night, a resident of Braamfontein wonders whether Covid-19 or muggers is the greater risk.
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Walking home one night, a resident of Braamfontein wonders whether Covid-19 or muggers is the greater risk.
The South African Bureau of Standards said this week it was receiving high volumes of complaints from the public about essential products, like hand sanitisers, disinfectants, and surgical face masks, sold by some unscrupulous manufacturers under the SABS-approved mark although they haven’t been certified or approved for consumption by the organisation.
In his speech to the nation on Thursday, 23 July, President Cyril Ramaphosa gave encouraging signs of a renewed clamp-down on corruption, with actual consequences for those found guilty. Ramaphosa spoke of the establishment of a coordinating centre, comprising nine state institutions, that would “strengthen the collective efforts among law enforcement agencies so as to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute Covid-related corruption”.
Corruption Watch’s report on corruption in the health sector, released today, highlights the troubling reality that the most vulnerable in our society, namely the elderly, women, and children, are most likely to bear the brunt of the fall-out from corruption. The issue of corruption in our health sector should be of paramount concern as it prevents a vast section of the population from accessing their right to decent healthcare.
The Ipid Act needs to be reviewed and the parliamentary portfolio committee on police needs to be more accountable after the position of the watchdog’s executive director stood empty for 18 months, write Kavisha Pillay and Sabeehah Motala of Corruption Watch.
In light of the corruption allegations in the Eastern Cape regarding medical scooters procured for millions of rands, Caroline James and Karam Jeet Singh of CW’s legal and investigations unit ask if government put in any increased measures to fight corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Portfolio Committee on Police said on Wednesday it has confirmed the nomination to appoint Jennifer Dikeledi Ntlatseng as Ipid’s new executive director, who will replace acting executive director Patrick Setshedi. Setshedi was appointed as the acting head of the organisation in March this year, after former acting ED Victor Senna’s 12-month contract ended.
Corruption Watch will release a report titled X-Ray: The critical state of the health sector in SA on
Wednesday, 22 July 2020. The report captures the voices of hundreds of people who have reported
corruption in the health sector to Corruption Watch in the eight years of the organisation’s
existence.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has uncovered information, from the so-called State Capture Papers, that points to Gupta-linked Trillian charging SEO Transnet US$2.8-million for property management services that it never provided. This calls for an explanation from both Transnet and the Department of Public Enterprises.
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