In the light of recent revelations and allegations concerning the relationship between MultiChoice and ANN7, the board of Corruption Watch has decided to release a statement disclosing a donation from Naspers, the owner of MultiChoice. This is in the interests of transparency and openness.
It is almost a year since Corruption Watch and the Right2Know Campaign filed their application in the Gauteng High Court, asking the court to set aside the Seriti Commission findings. This delay, and a the state’s decision to oppose an application by the two organisations to compel the provision of the documents, reinforces suspicions that the matter is deliberately being dragged out.
MultiChoice has denied any wrongdoing in its dealings with ANN7. However, South Africans’ outrage at daily revelations of state capture is, if anything, increasing, and MultiChoice may find out that its unassailable position in the pay TV market does not protect it from consumer wrath. We call for absolute transparency in this matter, given the ever more apparent extent of the Guptas’ involvement in state capture.
Corruption Watch cautiously welcomes the appointment of career policeman Lt-General Khehla Sithole as the new national police commissioner. However, there is still concern that President Jacob Zuma did not act on the recommendations of the National Development Plan that call for a transparent and merit-based recruitment process in the appointment of this critical post.
The CW investigative team, looking into a case of alleged sexual assault by a principal on a young school pupil, identified glaring inadequacies in the social support programme intended to assist minors, and a lack of action on the part of the education department and the South African Police Service.
Corruption Watch recently probed a report of a principal allegedly sexually assaulting a schoolgirl. Our investigation uncovered a disturbing lack of urgency to bring the suspected perpetrator to justice, unwillingness on the school’s part to co-operate with our investigation, and a serial failure to help the young victim.
The consolidated version of Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer – using data from five regional reports that have already been published – shows that nearly one in four people, of all respondents around the world, paid a bribe when they accessed a public service in the 12 months prior to the survey. Read more here.
In the wake of revelations that a major British bank is implicated in South Africa’s Gupta scandal, Transparency International UK and Corruption Watch, TI’s national chapter in South Africa, have called for a firm approach to be taken to any banks involved. The two organisations have demanded a thorough investigation and full co-operation between the proper authorities in both countries.
Transparency International is committed to ensuring that its Global Corruption Barometer stays relevant for the next generation of corruption researchers, writes TI research expert Coralie Pring, and that it continues to inform the debate around corruption. To this end the organisation has initiated discussions with TI chapters and research experts to determine the way forward for the GCB.
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.