Entries by Corruption Watch

Turning big data in Africa into an anti-corruption tool

10th August 2017 in , /by

Big data – large, complex sets of data that, when analysed, may produce interesting and unexpected results – has the potential to expose corruption and detect suspicious patterns and transactions, writes Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett. We saw it in the Panama Papers last year and more recently, in the Gupta Leaks which continues to yield revelations almost daily. There is a role for big data to play in Africa, but the required statistical skills and software are not in ready supply on the continent and many other parts of the developing world.

MPs have constitutional duty to hold executive to account

8th August 2017 in , /by

An elected public representative is expected to stay true to their mandate of working in the best interest of the public at all times, or be willing to step down to make way for others who can. This rings true for a ward councillor with a constituency of a few thousand people, or the sitting president of the country. What is in the public interest is top priority and should remain so until the particular office is vacated.

Mbete does the right thing, putting SA’s interests first

8th August 2017 in , /by

Parliamentary speaker Baleka Mbete, in her thinking around the secret ballot of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma – announced yesterday – recognises the primary point made by the Constitutional Court: that once an MP is sworn in, his or her allegiance is not first and foremost to their party but to the Constitution and the oath of office.

Africa is not poor, we are stealing its wealth

31st July 2017 in , /by

It’s time to change the way we talk and think about Africa, writes Nick Dearden. The continent is not poor, but looting, illicit financial flows, dodged taxes, illegal wildlife trade, wealth in the hands of a few, and other unasked-for costs are robbing it of its future. There is money coming into Africa, but more is leaving it.

Weak state institutions boost private sector corruption

27th July 2017 in , /by

Corruption has reached deep into communities around the country, said SACC general secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, and people did not see the need to become educated because there were other ways to make money. Mpumlwana and Prof Ivor Chipkin of Wits University were making submissions before Parliament’s portfolio committee of public enterprises, as part of the committee’s preparation for its inquiry into the affairs of Eskom and other state-owned entities, and state capture.

How corruption is fraying SA’s social, economic fabric

26th July 2017 in , /by

If South Africa is to recover, then the country’s badly frayed socio-economic fabric will need to be restitched, not just patched, writes Sean Gossel. Reversing the effects of state decay on the poor will take short-run and long-run interventions. Short-run measures will need to include holding public officials to account, reforming state owned enterprises and reversing the numerous institutional weaknesses at all levels of government, while long-term interventions must involve both public and private stakeholders.