Delegates at the 16th IACC have adopted the Putrajaya Declaration, which calls for grand corruption to be made an international crime, and also insists on full independence and autonomy for all anti-corruption bodies, among others.
Dear Corruption Watch, I am concerned that many high-profile and important positions in South Africa made by the president are compromised from the start, like the national prosecutions head. What alternatives to presidential appointment are there in South Africa and other countries?
Some of the corruption stories that made headlines around the world this week.
South Africans, put your thinking caps on – at the 16th IACC, José Ugaz of TI announced the global launch of an initiative to find the world’s three worst corruption cases. The contest forms part of TI’s Unmask the Corrupt campaign.
A parliamentary Cogta committee recently visited two troubled North West municipalities, which have been plagued by irregularities, inefficiencies and poor performance, leading to unacceptable levels of service delivery.
The reason the executive frequently found itself having to answer to the courts was because politicians were loath to obey the law, said our board member Vusi Pikoli last week. Pikoli was delivering the annual Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture at the University of Johannesburg.
Our zero for this week is the ANC’s chief whip in the Eastern Cape, Zolile Mrara, who appears to have been involved in the irregular appointment of an unqualified candidate. At his level, the chief whip should be upholding the rules rather than the opposite.
There are arguments for and against disclosure of party funding, but one compelling reason to introduce it is that it would assist in deterring and combating corruption. This is the view of former ConCourt judge and Corruption Watch board member Kate O’Regan, who was speaking at a seminar on political parties yesterday.
Some of the corruption stories that made headlines around the world this week.
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