Monday 28 January is marked around the world as Data Privacy Day. It was established by the EU in 2006 to raise awareness about the importance of personal data protection. South Africa is still awaiting the full enforcement of its own legislation relating to the protection of personal data. The Protection of Personal Information Act was signed into law five years ago, but is still only partially in force.
Recently appointed national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi starts her 10-year tenure today. Batohi, who completed a stint as senior advisor at the International Criminal Court, is the first woman to be appointed permanently as NDPP. Experts say she is likely to prioritise the matter of stability in the organisation.
South Africa, and much of the African continent, again fail to inspire in terms of their public sector anti-corruption efforts, as the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index shows. Released today by Transparency International, the CPI puts South Africa in exactly the same position as last year, with a mediocre score of 43 and a two-place drop in ranking from 71 to 73.
Government contractor Bosasa was hard at work behind the scenes, buying off officials, paying cash bribes of thousands, and even bending the ear of former president Jacob Zuma, who was manipulated by Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson. These revelations and more emerged during the testimony of former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi, who will continue with day 8 of his testimony on 28 January.
Corruption Watch has welcomed the signing of the Political Party Funding Act into law. The act is an essential step towards regulating party funding, and will also provide for private donors to contribute to a fund, rather to a particular party.
Corruption Watch recently hosted a roundtable discussion , which focused on our report into the role that corruption played in bringing about the capture of parts of South Africa’s criminal justice system. The report, which will be submitted to the Zondo commission into state capture, is titled Capture of the criminal justice system.
With national elections coming up in a few months, it’s essential to ensure that you cast your vote and make your voice heard. Over the next few weeks, we will post a short series of articles providing you with useful information to help you experience a smooth and easy voting process. Our first article covers the voter registration process.
On day two of testimony from former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi, the Zondo Commission watched video evidence that showed CEO Gavin Watson and two of his directors packing and arranging stacks of money while inside a vault at the company offices. Agrizza said the video was taken by then Bosasa CFO Andries van Tonder in 2017, who was working with Agrizzi to obtain evidence of the common practice at the company.
Angelo Agrizzi, the former COO of controversial facilities management company Bosasa, told the Zondo Commission today that the firm spent between R4-million and R6-million monthly for bribes to senior government officials on the Bosasa payroll, in what CEO Gavin Watson called “monopoly money”.