The international community can, and should be doing more to combat trade-based money laundering, writes Jason Kohn for the Global AntiCorruption Blog. With the significant increase in global trade in recent years, there has been a corresponding increased risk of using the legitimate movement of goods across borders to conceal the illegitimate movement of money.
Private companies have played an equally destructive role in the plunder of South Africa, writes Cynthia Schoeman, whether in being a party to the corruption or, in the case of many professional services, in facilitating the corruption. If the corporate sector makes more of an commitment to NOT be the other party in a corrupt relationship, it can help to reduce corruption.
Although irregular expenditure decreased from R29.7-billion last year, non-compliance with key governance laws is still a challenge. This year’s municipal audit outcomes, released by the Auditor-General on Wednesday, has seen the highest level of non-compliance with key governance laws since the 2011/2012 financial year.
Organised crime flourished under former president Jacob Zuma’s presidency as criminal justice agencies were diverted from their primary role and manipulated for political and personal gain. The crippling of these institutions resulted in a surge in car hijackings, cash-in-transit heists and aggravated robbery and while Zuma did not wilfully intend to push up the crime rate, says CW executive director David Lewis in this interview with BizNews, that is exactly what happened.
In terms of the fight against corruption, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s June 2019 State of the Nation address did not offer much in the line of results achieved. Ramaphosa did announce that law enforcement agencies would be strengthened, and noted that the SIU special tribunal, which focuses on recovering state funds lost to corruption, will start its work within months.
In part two of our mini-series on corruption and heroin use in South Africa, we examine the effects of the drug trade on users, communities, and the police. There are ways in which to address the situation, but they depend on a multi-faceted approach, not the least of which is political will to effectively address all aspects of the heroin economy – including the corruption that enables it.
Organised crime flourished under Jacob Zuma’s presidency as South Africa’s criminal justice agencies were manipulated for political and personal gain, a joint submission by the Institute for Security Studies and Corruption Watch to the Zondo Commission has revealed.
The recovery of bribe proceeds across borders should be easy, cheap, and swift, writes Rick Messick. This is not always the case, however, because some of the national laws relating to such asset recovery are downright quirky.
The Seriti Commission’s unbelievable findings – that it could find no evidence of corruption in the controversial arms deal – should be set aside by a court as a matter of principle, write Corruption Watch’s Tara Davis and Deborah Mutemwa-Tumbo. The organisation, with the Right2Know Campaign, is challenging the findings of the Seriti Commission and has approached the High Court for relief.
Visit our GivenGain R20 for Change page and help us demand transparency in our systems, accountability in our leaders, and better empowerment and protection of whistle-blowers. By donating R20 a month, you’ll be supporting our work with communities across the country, helping them to know and access their rights and reduce the corruption that robs people of resources intended for their benefit.