Beneficial ownership transparency in Africa is gaining ground. A report released recently by the Tax Justice Network shows that at the start of 2023, 23 of 54 African countries have in place laws and regulations requiring the real people – the beneficial owners – behind legal vehicles to disclose themselves to a government authority.
It is one thing to talk about upholding human rights, but another to actively put those words into practice, writes Moepeng Valencia Talane. In South Africa, neglect, corruption, malfeasance, and poor governance result in violations of people’s human rights – even their right to life.
Corruption Watch and Transparency International have demanded that authorities speedily investigate the recent murders of Johannesburg accountant Cloete Murray and his son, Thomas. Murray was a well-known corruption investigator and was the liquidator of state capture linked African Global Operations – formerly known as Bosasa. The organisations say it is crucial for the future of anti-corruption in South Africa that those who attack anti-corruption defenders are held responsible.
By stealing food allocated to them under the National Schools Nutrition Programme, the constitutional rights of millions of children from poor families are abused, writes Mzwandile Banjathwa. But there are little or no accountability on the part of the many culprits. Does the government condone stealing from children?
In 2022 the Constitutional Court ruled that South Africa’s Executive Ethics Code is unconstitutional in that it does not require full disclosure of all donations to intra-party campaigns. Amendments are due by September this year, writes Natalie Keetsi for the Global Anticorruption Blog – but any amendments will only be as effective as their enforcement.
Attempts to undermine the Political Party Funding Act will take us back to the age of secrecy, writes My Vote Counts in a statement released at the beginning of March 2023. The organisation decries the governing party’s attempts to amend the act in its favour, saying these are a threat to a key tenet of our democracy — that the people must govern.
Now that the regulations for emergency procurement to address the energy crisis have been gazetted, writes amaBhungane’s Caroline James, it is evident that they are woefully inadequate in giving effect to promises made to monitor any potential abuse of the regulations. The whole situation is a licence to loot – again, James adds.
Civil society organisations including Corruption Watch, have demanded clarity and transparency around the new disaster management regulations issued as a response to the electricity crisis in the country. The organisations say the regulations are too broad, too vague, and too opaque – inviting a repeat of the large-scale looting that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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.