Civil society must monitor the legislative reform that is (slowly) under way as a result of the Zondo commission’s recommendations, says Casac’s Lawson Naidoo. He is the guest on the first of three new Zondo Commission Unpacked podcast episodes, released to mark one year since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced government’s response to the commission’s report and recommendations.
Independent Electoral Commission party funding chief executive George Mahlangu says the Political Party Funding Act in its current form does not enable the commission to get political parties to account for the donations they receive. At present parties are able to simply circumnavigate public disclosure by telling supporters to donate under the threshold of R100 000.
By the narrowest of margins, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka got the required 60% approval from the National Assembly after a heated debate on 19 October, and is now well on her way to officially being appointed as public protector. Gcaleka needed 240 votes from National Assembly members – she got 244. Five fewer votes, and the motion would have failed.
Corruption Watch podcasts are engaging and topical, covering a wide range of issues, from the Zondo commission and state capture, to land corruption, police corruption, and corruption affecting the youth. […]
Episode 2 of Corruption Watch’s new five-part podcast series explores the contentious issue of land in South Africa, its importance as a critical resource and foundation for sustainable livelihoods, and the way the land system works in practice in this country. This series forms part of our work in the second phase of Transparency International’s Land and Corruption in Africa project, which seeks to address land corruption risks and injustices in sub-Saharan Africa.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being mooted as a valuable tool in the fight against corruption. It even has the potential to be the custodian of social justice, in the words of a prominent South African academic. But the field is still very new and there are numerous issues and questions to be addressed before AI is unleashed on corruption.
The Department of Public Enterprises, under the leadership of Pravin Gordhan, failed to meet 42% of its targets for the 2022/2023 financial year. Presenting the department’s annual audit outcomes to Parliament, the Auditor-General of South Africa said this low achievement rate “directly links” to the stagnation seen in the performance of the state-owned entities under its control – particularly Transnet.
Corruption Watch extends an invitation to join moderator Sakina Kamwendo for a listening session marking our new five-part podcast series, Land and Corruption: Story of the Marginalised, as well as the release of a research report that addresses the intersection between land, corruption, and discrimination. The event takes place on 23 October at 18h00. See this advisory for more details.
The Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum – of which Corruption Watch is a member – has expressed concern at the rising number of fraudulent medical claims, with the complicity of some legal firms, which the Special Investigating Unit has uncovered. These claims potentially cost the Department of Health billions which it can ill afford.