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.
CW has released the Procurement Risk Trends report, focusing on trends in public procurement deviations and contract expansions.
The unprecedented removal of Busisiwe Mkhwebane as public protector highlights the importance of selecting the right person for a job – especially one of such importance – through a rigorous process that disregards party or cadre issues and focuses solely on merit and suitability. Since 2016 Corruption Watch has been campaigning for such processes to become the norm in government leadership appointments.
The newly launched National Inclusive Safer Schools Programme promises to make the schools environment a safer and healthier one, with its focus on building an inclusive culture in and around schools. The programme is a partnership between the Department of Basic Education and, among others, the German development agency GIZ.