Simphiwe Zwane, a councillor for Operation Khanyisa Movement, speaks about her life as a community representative in municipal government, and her commitment to working with municipal management to improve the lives of her constituents. ““We are going to carry on, because we believe that powers are not within the City of Joburg, but with us as the community.”
Corruption Watch would like to view the government’s draft national anti-corruption strategy as a signal that government is seriously coming to the party, writes our executive director David Lewis. However, the impact will be limited until we solve two related problems – corruption in the leadership of the NPA and the Hawks, and impunity at the highest level of government.
Corruption Watch invites media to attend an anti-corruption activation on Friday 9 December 2016, to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, an annual UN-designated calendar event to raise awareness of corruption. The theme for 2016 is “United against corruption for development, peace and security”.
The 2016 International Anti-Corruption Conference took place in Panama last week. More than 1 600 people from around 130 countries gathered in Panama City, with one common call: the time for justice, equity, security, and trust is now. Read the Panama Declaration, which arose from the discussions..
Corruption Watch condemns Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba’s recent inflammatory statements regarding immigrants. The organisation calls on the DA to repudiate these unfounded comments that have the potential to spark anti-immigrant emotions. At the helm of a city as diverse as Johannesburg, it is surely incumbent on Mashaba to seek to unite rather than to divide the residents of the city which he oversees.
The giving and receiving of gifts is especially prevalent at this time of the year – this means that the potential for abuse is also greater, writes Cynthia Schoeman. A crystal-clear gift policy will ensure that the line between corruption and acceptable practice is clearly understood and that the potential for abuse is minimised.
On the whole, government strategies and policies around the urban renewal programme were well intended and thought through, said Auditor-General Kimi Makwethu yesterday at the release of a report on the status of the URP – but the more detailed planning and execution hampered the successful implementation of these strategies and policies.
The office of the Information Regulator has been established in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act, with the five-year appointment of Advocate Pansy Tlakula and her four staff members coming into effect tomorrow. The act will protect people’s personal information and prevent the potential damage they would suffer from, for instance, identity theft or a violation of their private data.
Sassa executives came under fire recently when they appeared before Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts to answer questions on the financial health of the agency and its spending history in the 2015/16 financial year. With R1.1-billion in irregular expenditure, Sassa has a lot to answer for.
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.