G20 governments must lead the way in ceasing to treat civil society as the enemy, writes Cathal Gilbert in this op-ed just before the recent G20 meeting. Rather, civil society plays a critical role in securing public buy-in for government policies and helps to ensure that the right programmes get implemented at the local level, and it’s time that governments accept and embrace this.
Corruption Watch expresses its sadness at the news of the passing of Emma Mashinini, former Corruption Watch board member and loyal supporter of our work since inception. We are proud to have had her presence in our organisation, and we are grateful for the immense contribution that she made to our work.
The Parliamentary Monitoring Group has published a new survey on public participation in Parliament’s consultative processes. The survey revealed that participants are neither entirely satisfied nor dissatisfied with the process as it is, and they feel that Parliament has to work harder to ensure that it garners a plurality and multiplicity of views.
On 5 July Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies launched a joint public awareness campaign for transparency and merit-based selection in the upcoming appointments of the South African Police Service national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, or Hawks. It is crucial that the current serial crisis of top management in the police is addressed, as this has been identified as the root cause of most of the problems facing the police in South Africa.
Today Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies highlighted the need for transparency and public participation in the upcoming appointments of the SAPS national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks). The organisations launched a joint public awareness campaign around these critical appointments, and will advocate for improvements in the way they are made.
Corruption Watch strongly endorses the investigation by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors into allegations of improper conduct of auditing firm KPMG, in particular its 2014 audit of Linkway Trading, the company alleged to be involved in the related Free State dairy and Gupta wedding scandals. We are a;so currently consulting our lawyers regarding McKinsey’s business dealings with Eskom to assess whether to refer their conduct to the criminal justice authorities of both South Africa and the US.
One of Corruption Watch’s successes has been the way it helps people make sense of corruption matters that affect them on a practical level, says our newest board member Sithembile Mbete. For young people, especially, the type of everyday petty corruption seen at testing centres and in schools often makes the difference between success in life or not.
Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies invite media to the launch of a joint public awareness campaign focused on the appointments of the South African Police Service national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks).
Media invite: The Lithuanian Embassy in partnership with Corruption Watch and the South African Local Government Association invites media to attend a send-off function for young people who have been selected to attend the Transparency International School on Integrity, which takes place from 10-16 July 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The programme empowers young people with the necessary skills to fight corruption in their countries.