An environment not conducive to competition, high and rising costs of healthcare and medical scheme cover, disempowered and uninformed consumers, practitioners that are subject to little regulation, and failures of accountability at many levels – these and more scathing findings came out of the Competition Commission’s market inquiry into private healthcare, which released its interim findings recently.
Senior National Prosecuting Authority advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi have been suspended – on full pay – and President Cyril Ramaphosa will set up an inquiry into their fitness to hold office, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Presidency. The two were disbarred in 2016 but appealed successfully in July 2018.
Read the Copenhagen Declaration, the document of intent issued at the close of this year’s International Anti-Corruption Conference on 24 October. The document targets, among others, money laundering and illicit financial flows, the role of activists and whistle-blowers, and the privilege – not right – of holding public office. “Those that hold public office must hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct, and should be obliged to disclose their financial dealings,” the declaration noted.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni delivered his maiden medium-term budget policy statement today. Mboweni prioritised urgent and pressing matters in education and health – including the zero VAT-rating of sanitary pads and free access to these necessities for all schoolgirls – the reformation of state-owned enterprises, and investment in municipal infrastructure, among others. Read the full text of his speech, and download a copy of the budget policy statement.
The process to choose a successor to Shaun Abrahams, former national director of public prosecutions, has begun. On Monday the panel tasked with selecting suitable candidates met for the first time. The panel expects to be able to send names to President Cyril Ramaphosa by 7 December. The public is encouraged to get involved by nominating people whom they believe would be right for the job.
More than 45 national governments, businesses and organisations have endorsed a joint statement issued at the start of the 2018 International Anti-Corruption Conference. Among other points, the signatories acknowledged the important role that civil society and media play in exposing and confronting corruption. They also recognised the importance of protecting whistle-blowers in both the private and public sectors.
TTransparency International announced yesterday evening that there are two winners of this year’s Anti-Corruption Award. They are Ana Garrido Ramos and Daphne Caruana Galizia, who receives the award posthumously. Each of the four finalists for this year’s award – three individuals and an organisation – risked their lives and their reputations because they believed it is better to stand up and fight than to do nothing.
The 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference gets under way today in Copenhagen, Denmark. Under the theme of Together for Development, Peace, and Security: Now is the Time to Act, delegates will strive to turn the pledge of action into reality, by supporting and empowering everyone interested and committed to the fight against corruption and social change.
An international anti-corruption court would provide the essential forum for prosecuting corrupt leaders of countries that are unwilling or unable to discharge this duty themselves, write former Constitutional Court justice Richard Goldstone and Robert Rotberg, former Harvard professor. The two are not alone in believing that cases of grand corruption fall outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.