Corruption Watch is advocating for the release of the Mafereka commission report, which has not seen the light of day, years after its submission to the North West premier’s office. But the premier’s office, writes CW’s Matshidiso Dibakwane, is not co-operating with us or with the communities affected by the refusal to release the report, which looked into disputes and claims relating to traditional leadership in the province.
Access to information can help prevent corruption, including the abuse of public resources, conflicts of interest and bribery, says Transparency International. It also helps the public have a clear and accurate understanding of issues that have a major impact on their lives – and for this reason citizens should not hesitate to ask questions of government in relation to Covid-19 vaccine procurement. This will help to manage expectations, build trust in government, and uncover misinformation.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the imminent enforcement of the Political Party Funding Act, due to commence on 1 April 2021, are two important factors shaping this year’s municipal elections, scheduled to take place between 4 August and 1 November. South Africa’s electoral commission will use by-elections in April and May to test its systems and Covid-19 protocols, and encourages political parties, independent candidates and other stakeholders to do the same.
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts grilled Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa board members and executives, Department of Transport officials, and transport minister Fikile Mbalula for failures at the rail agency. The committee also expressed its anger at the Prasa board’s lack of urgency to move on various important matters.
The gaps in information shared by the government around the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines are a major concern, writes law professor Geo Quinot. Transparency and regulatory compliance are needed to build public trust in the vaccination programme – and public trust is crucial if the programme is to succeed. There is still much we do not know and much we should know, some details that might be forthcoming, and other information that should already be available.
Our big concern with Jova Vaccines Supply is that its director has many directorships, write Karam Singh and Kirsten Pearson. This is a red flag in the sense that no one person can feasibly stretch their time to such an extent and offer a meaningful value-adding service. And we don’t see evidence of sufficient due diligence being done prior to granting the registration of companies or sufficient oversight of shelf companies.
Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index), released at the end of January 2021, highlights South Africa’s failure to move above 50 points on the index, write David Lewis and Janine Erasmus. The ANC’s unwillingness or inability to tackle corruption and crime in its own ranks is just one factor weighing on perceptions of the country.
Former president Jacob Zuma and his co-accused, French arms company Thales, will finally go on trial for corruption, money laundering and racketeering charges on 17 May. This brings to an end years of slippery evasion and stalling on the part of the two accused, with some assistance from authorities along the way.
In December 2020 CW published its second survey on youth and corruption, with several questions dedicated to their experiences with sextortion. While no extensive data exists to confirm whether sextortion is a problem in South Africa, or how widespread it is, wrote Sabeehah Motala at the time, the country’s endemic gender-based violence problem means it is not unthinkable that the two would interact at some point,.