Following an extensive investigation, activist organisation GroundUp reveals how the findings of a forensic audit into R500-million corruption in the provincial Department of Social Development was suppressed. Tender processes were bypassed, officials and suppliers benefited personally, and there have been few consequences – except for many of the province’s non-profit organisations, who have struggled to stay afloat.
A new report from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime delves deep into the growing extortion economy in Gauteng, identifying four main drivers of the criminal practice and four main extortion economies in the province. Authored by Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, the report is titled Calling the shots: The strong arm of extortion in Gauteng.
This year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated every year on 9 December, takes place under the theme Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity. The theme highlights the vital role young people play in the fight against corruption and their potential to become powerful agents of change as the world strives for a future that runs on integrity rather than corruption.
The Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems, or MAPS, recently released a lengthy assessment of South Africa’s public procurement system. The report found that while there has been some progress in reforming the system, significant improvements are needed in terms of systemic corruption, institutional weaknesses, e-procurement limitations, and issues with integrity and anti-corruption measures.
The newly introduced Constitution Twenty-first Amendment Bill, presented this week to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, aims to amend the Constitution to establish an anti-corruption commission as a Chapter 9 body, one that will report only to Parliament and will have the necessary powers to investigate and prosecute serious corruption and high-level organised crime exclusively.
The Special Investigating Unit and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts have renewed their memorandum of understanding regarding investigating and reporting on matters pertaining to irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure of public funds. The original agreement, signed earlier this year, fell away with the dissolution of the previous government.
A new report released by Namibia’s Institute for Public Policy Research underscores the devastating effects of corruption on the lives of ordinary people – in this case, the fisheries workers who had the rug whipped out from under their feet when the country’s Fishrot corruption scandal broke, and who now struggle just to survive.
Audit outcomes over the term of the sixth administration show an improvement in national and provincial government’s ability to transparently report on their finances and performance, said auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke, tabling the 2023/2024 PFMA report in Parliament yesterday. However, many auditees are not achieving the desired improvement, thereby hindering the efficient delivery of services and responsible use of public funds.
Time is running out for you to nominate your (most corrupt) Person of the Year for 2024, in the annual ‘competition’ organised by the OCCRP. Will we see a South African victor for the first time? Nominations close on 5 December.