The Auditor-General of South Africa will be keeping a watchful eye on the use of funds marked for Covid-19 relief, particularly those coming from the R500-billion relief package announced in April 2020. In a parliamentary briefing in May Kimi Makwethu told the standing committee on the auditor-general that his office would undertake special audits of Covid-19 related funds.
An unemployed father of four shares his personal experience on how the coronavirus has impacted his livelihood.
Corruption in public procurement came under the spotlight during a presentation to Parliament by law enforcement agencies. The Special Investigating Unit, National Prosecuting Authority and Hawks assured MPs that they are working hard to root out this pernicious form of corruption.
The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture, of which Corruption Watch is a member, has written to the Zondo Commission to ask that certain urgent issues be addressed as soon as possible. Among these are the release of an interim report, the speedy resumption of hearings with all necessary safety precautions in place, and the adaptation of the terms of reference to include virtual platforms for said hearings.
With the saga around Prof Glenda Gray, the health department, and the Medical Research Council, still reverberating around South Africa, the words of the Center for International Private Enterprise’s Peter Glover – “When space for independent criticism of governments closes, it creates room for corruption” – ring even truer.
We need to do things differently in the face of the corruption and greed that deny people access to clean, reliable water, write Mike Muller and Barbara Schreiner. This has been their birthright since 1996, but corruption has hampered fulfilment of this vital constitutional right.
A group of civil society organisations, including Corruption Watch, has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa to raise concerns about corruption during the Covid-19 crisis. The letter also offers a host of practical suggestions that will help address the problem.
The Department of Social Development has been criticised by organisations and individuals within the C-19 People’s Coalition for paying out R350, which they say is below the poverty line. These organisations and individuals are also calling for the department to communicate better how it intends to pay these social relief grants to beneficiaries who don’t have bank accounts.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has announced progress in a large number of investigations into irregular expenditure, weak governance, and mismanagement. The first phase of investigations is complete, and forensic investigators have submitted their findings, which the department is preparing to hand over to law enforcement.
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