President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced his revamped cabinet. While there is much to applaud, such as the greater number of women in the cabinet, the inclusion of questionable individuals still leaves doubt as to whether South Africa’s interests were genuinely prioritised.
Golden visa/passport programmes are problematic in several ways, writes Natalie Ritchie, including the fact that the investments by applicants have hardly had the boost on economies that is expected of them. But the bigger problem with golden visa programmes is their potential to both facilitate and stimulate corruption and money laundering.
The National Prosecuting Authority is undergoing a revitalisation, said its recently appointed head Shamila Batohi on Friday – but the challenges are enormous. Meanwhile, the newly established investigating directorate within the NPA is to be headed by Advocate Hermione Cronje.
The ink is barely dry on voters’ thumbnails, and already the electorate is demanding accountability – as it rightfully should. On Wednesday 22 May, activists protested outside Parliament as MPs were being sworn in, to “remember all those that lost their lives due to corruption and maladministration in government”.
The voter is the primary employer of all public representatives, writes Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, and as such, it is our responsibility – like any other employer – to take charge and ensure that our representatives remain faithful to their oaths of office and put the nation’s interests above the politics of their parties.
Former president Jacob Zuma is in the Pietermaritzburg High Court this week as his lawyers argue for a permanent stay of prosecution on charges of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
When we investigated reports of financial mismanagement in a handful of schools in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, we found that provincial education departments were unwilling to co-operate with us in uncovering the truth of the complaints brought to us.
Corruption Watch will be holding President Ramaphosa to his corruption-fighting promises, on the basis of which he campaigned vigorously, and successfully, in the recent general election.
For nearly 20 years, communications group Edelman has been measuring public trust in institutions and people. Its 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, released earlier in the year, has found that overall, less than half of the world’s general population trust their government to do the right thing.
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.