Defendants in Namibia’s largest ever corruption case have again escaped answering for their crimes, writes Richard Messick for the Global Anticorruption Blog. The long-awaited trial has been delayed numerous times because at every opportunity, the accused have turned rules meant to ensure criminal trials are fairly conducted into weapons for postponing theirs.
A culture of bribery is destroying South Africa’s soul, turning integrity into a commodity and honour into myth, writes Kekeletso Nakeli in this heartfelt opinion piece. In essence, she says, we are teaching our children that credibility can be bought. “We have fostered a corrupt society; it is evident that the brown envelope culture comes from the corridors of power.”
Earlier this month the Constitutional Court rule found the appointment process of five commissioners to the Commission for Gender Equality, undertaken in 2022, invalid as it offered inadequate public participation. The court ordered the process to be re-run within 12 months. Accordingly, Parliament’s portfolio committee on women, youth and persons with disabilities plans to start a new appointment process in September.
“Corruption has been a serious challenge in the broader border management ecosystem,” said Border Management Authority commissioner Michael Masiapato during the organisation’s recent quarterly performance briefing.
Corruption Watch welcomes the unanimous Constitutional Court judgment in its favour, handed down today in its challenge to the National Assembly’s 2023 appointment of five commissioners to the Commission for Gender Equality. The court found the legislature to have failed in its constitutional duty to facilitate reasonable and meaningful public participation in the appointment process, declared the appointments invalid, and ordered the process to be run again.
The Constitutional Court on Friday handed down a unanimous judgment finding that the National Assembly failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate reasonable public involvement in recommending persons to be appointed to Chapter 9 institutions. Corruption Watch had approached the court to have the 2022 appointments of five members of the Commission for Gender Equality declared invalid, based on the legislature’s rushed and limited approach in seeking public submissions on the process.
To depoliticise the police service and redirect its attention and activities towards crime and emergencies, writes governance and public management expert Ivor Chipkin, a crucial first step is to reconsider the appointment processes for the national police commissioner and other top managers.
Under the current system the president has sole discretion, Chipkin says, which makes party-political considerations a given. Without structural changes, genuine democratic policing will remain an elusive ideal.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has gazetted the upcoming Madlanga inquiry into law enforcement corruption. The gazette also includes the terms of reference which lay out the scope of the inquiry, and other regulations which guide its work. Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga will preside as chairperson, with Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC and Advocate Sandile Khumalo assisting.
With local government elections coming up next year, it is not too early to start thinking about voting-related matters. The recent symposium on political funding in South Africa, hosted in Durban by the Independent Electoral Commission, brought together key stakeholders to assess progress in the four years since the promulgation of the Political Party Funding Act – now known as the Political Funding Act – which came into force on 1 April 2021.