Corruption Watch condemns a decision by the South African Social Services Agency to withdraw from opposition to legal action that challenged a R317-million payment to social grants distributor Cash Paymaster Services on the basis that it was irregular. CW views the conduct as wasteful of public resources, following two years of litigation on the matter.
The principles of economic activity are driving corruption, writes Zola Valashiya. A demand for an item or a service – such as the irregularly speedy issuing of drivers’ licenses – creates the opportunity for someone to supply that service. It’s partly because of inefficiency and partly because we love speed and convenience that we provide the market for that service.
As part of the Bua Mzansi (Speak up South Africa) campaign, Corruption Watch will be embarking on outreach activities in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo, Consequently the organisation seeks to appoint an agency / consultants to provide strategic outdoor marketing services in key cities in these provinces. Read the brief for further details.
The Corruption Challenges Index for 2017, released by global consultancy firm Risk Advisory Group, ranks 181 countries in terms of the markets that pose the most – and the fewest – corruption challenges for investing businesses. It presents an unexpected result for South Africa, one that is not as doom-laden as results from other indexes.
New court documents, filed by Pretoria lawyer Ajay Sooklal in support of Corruption Watch and Right2Know’s court case challenging the findings of the Seriti Commission, allege that President Jacob Zuma benefited handsomely from South Africa’s controversial arms deal and that he instructed Sooklal to withhold that information from the commission.
On Saturday 29 April President Jacob Zuma signed the long-awaited Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) bill into law. The amended FIC act is aimed at strengthening domestic regulations that deal with money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and illicit financial transactions. Corruption Watch was one of a number of civil society organisations which made parliamentary submissions regarding the content of the FIC bill.
It is illegal for a no-fee school to charge fees of any kind to parents, although parents can be encouraged to make “voluntary contributions” of money or time to the school. But Corruption Watch has had many reports of no-fee schools like Mpumelelo Primary School charging fees to parents, and sometimes even withholding a child’s progress report or barring them entry to the school premises if the parent has not paid.
Corruption Watch has laid criminal charges against South African Revenue Services (Sars) commissioner, Tom Moyane, as well as two senior Sars employees, Jonas Makwakwa and Kelly-Ann Elskie. In the interests of transparency, we publish all the correspondence relating to our investigation.
If corruption in South Africa becomes institutionalised, writes Prof William Gumede of Wits University’s School of Governance, it will be virtually impossible to tackle it. In a policy brief published recently, he outlines a number of steps that can be taken to combat corruption, but although they have all been suggested at one time or another, those in authority have been reluctant to adopt them.