Entries by Corruption Watch

Corruption Watch urges Absa to act on the PP’s findings

Corruption Watch has urged Absa Bank to respect the public protector’s findings, released yesterday, on the CIEX report, calling upon the bank to either repay the R1.125-billion bail-out granted by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to Bankorp Limited / Absa between 1986 and 1995, or otherwise launch a judicial review. However, the organisation expressed its extreme disquiet at the public protector’s finding, apparently derived from this investigation, instructing Parliament to amend the Reserve Bank’s mandate.

Corruption is a killer of the innocent

Gun laws save lives, but poor enforcement and associated corruption kills, writes Corruption Watch’s deputy director Ronald Menoe. And often it’s innocent children who end up in the path of a bullet. This Youth Month, we note with sadness that according to research, the leading cause of death for children in South Africa is gun wounds (49.2%), followed by stab (44.3%) and blunt force (6.6%) wounds.

Dlamini not off the hook regarding Sassa

The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday 15 June that it cannot immediately make a costs order against social development minister Bathabile Dlamini in the Sassa matter, but has ordered that the extent of her personal liability be investigated. Parties involved must submit feedback within 14 days on the process to be followed – failing that, the court will determine the way forward.

In an ethical meltdown, we must keep ethics alive

In these times of poor national leadership and rampant unethical behaviour, a business focus on and engagement with ethical conduct should be a prioritised imperative, writes Cynthia Schoeman. In this way, the business sector can meaningfully contribute toward greater ethical behaviour in South Africa and in so doing, reduce the spread of lowest-common-denominator unethical behaviour.

Can we put an end to corruption?

South Africa’s proposed national anti-corruption strategy has the potential to succeed, but success will depend on factors such as the complete autonomy and efficiency of state institutions in the country, and building the independence of crime-fighting bodies, as well as improved coordination between all role-players in the fight against corruption.

Navigating our democracy in a bid to defeat corruption

Our democracy takes the shape of elected representatives on whom we rely to act in our best interests, writes Sabeehah Motala. When this doesn’t happen we vent our outrage publicly and in our numbers, but this doesn’t always result in the change we seek. Yet we are not helpless, and building integrity in ourselves and our communities is just the first step towards overcoming indifference to corruption.

Proposed new Saps anti-corruption unit could work

The South African Police Service is developing a draft anti-corruption strategy which provides for, among others, the establishment of a dedicated internal capability to conduct criminal investigations against members allegedly involved in corrupt and fraudulent activities. Johan Burger and Stefan Grobler of the Institute for Security Studies argue that this is a good idea, provided it is properly staffed and managed.