Corruption Watch has released the first in a new series of five podcasts focusing on its work in Transparency International’s Land and Corruption in Africa project. Find the link to the podcast here, as well as a compilation of our other work in the project.
The Financial Intelligence Centre, in its latest annual report, has revealed the recovery of more than R5.8-billion in criminal proceeds in the last financial year alone. This has been made possible by stronger powers that were enabled by legislative changes in late 2022, as part of the General Laws Amendment Act to address shortcomings in South Africa’s anti-money laundering framework.
South Africa’s current Protected Disclosures Act provides little incentive for employers to investigate whistle-blower tip-offs, either properly or at all, write the authors. And since there is scant likelihood of legislation alone providing sufficient protection for whistle-blowers, it should be bolstered by an independent body which will monitor and ensure employers take reasonable steps to investigate, and act on, disclosures.
Ethical public procurement is an “unassailable priority”, said finance minister Enoch Godongwana in a speech delivered at the National Treasury’s third Public Finance Management Conference, held in late September. An important part of that is consequence management, he said, ensuring that individuals and entities be held accountable for financial misconduct.
The sooner climate and tax justice activists unite and demand beneficial ownership transparency, writes Matti Kohonen for the Tax Justice Network, the more urgently we can put an end to escalating climate crimes like illicit fishing and logging. “These environmental crimes not only threaten the capacity of our carbon sinks to absorb greenhouse gases, they generate profits that result in illicit financial flows: a form of illegal capital flight that occurs when money is illegally earned, transferred, or spent.”
Deviations and expansions in public procurement are not necessarily red flags or signs of irregularities, said Prof Geo Quinot of Stellenbosch University at the recent webinar launch of Corruption Watch’s third procurement risk trends report. However, in the case of Transnet, they definitely were.
A new corporate anti-corruption guide, developed by Business Leadership South Africa and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, may very well provide the impetus the business sector needs to get its act together and work cohesively towards cutting down on corruption. The two organisations envision the guide as being “the launchpad for a much-needed discussion on how to create a corruption-resistant business sector.”
The 13th Global Investigative Journalism Conference honoured watchdog journalism in developing and transitioning countries to promote courageous and impactful journalism particularly in hostile press environments.
The National State Enterprises Bill is the most far-reaching reform of SOCs since the 1990s, when some were corporatised under the Companies Act, mostly with an eye to future privatisation.
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.