National Treasury’s local government revenue and expenditure report for Q2 of the 2023/24 financial year, released on 18 March 2023, reveals some interesting trends. Among other matters, the report shows a low spend on important conditional grants such as the Municipal Disaster Recovery Grant, with less than 13% of the budgeted amount spent over half the financial year.
Banks and auditors have turned a blind eye to the money looted over more than a decade from Prasa into the pockets of greedy and powerful figures, write Ra’eesa Pather and Qiqa Nkomo in this Open Secrets exposé. The masterminds behind the looting, now living in luxury while South African commuters struggle with a hopelessly inadequate rail system, are scrutinised in this second article of a three-part series.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Special Investigating Unit to ensure continuation in the seventh parliament of state capture and corruption cases already before the committee. The move will also strengthen the relationship between the two entities.
In our latest state capture update: The much talked-about ANC candidate list is out and has analysts talking, as has the party’s latest sanction of a sitting deputy minister. Civil society also weighs in on life after the Zondo commission, pointing out its wins and losses in a reflective report.
We know that a new Parliament arises after each general election – so what actually happens to the previous Parliament? This brief explanation has the answers.
Open Secrets has released the first in their new series of articles on corruption in Prasa’s dealings with a front company called Swifambo Rail Leasing. This article focuses on Spanish technology company Vossloh, which made R1.8-billion through a dubious partnership with Swifambo, Open Secrets reveals, and has not paid back a cent.
The 2023 Global State of Democracy report presents a picture of both wins and losses. Although it confirmed the phenomenon of democratic backsliding observed over the last few years, there were still gains for many countries and for categories such as Participation, which measures how involved citizens are in democratic expression during and between elections.
Five years since the story broke, there is still no justice for the workers who were affected by the Fishrot scandal, says Namibia’s Institute for Public Policy and Research in a new report released in March 2024. Titled We are the Ones that Suffered the Most, the report highlights the personal accounts of a range of former fisheries workers who have suffered economic and mental hardship since they were unexpectedly let go, in some cases with no explanation.
South Africa continues to make progress in addressing issues identified by the Financial Action Task Force as deficiencies in the country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regime. However, there is still a long way to go to fully address the 17 (out of 22) outstanding action items by the deadline of February 2025.