Anti-corruption activists in Madagascar face harassment, police questioning, imprisonment, and criminal records – merely for doing their job of exposing corruption and money laundering. Corruption Watch supports our Madagascan colleagues and calls for fairness and an end to the intimidation of activists.
Research conducted for Corruption Watch’s two new reports, released on 22 November 2022, has enabled the organisation to ascertain the veracity of the disclosure regime in South Africa, with specific application to extractive industries, and whether this regime creates a satisfactory framework for beneficial ownership transparency and tax benefit arrangements that ensure there is adequate State oversight and enforcement of accountability in the industry.
The time has come for South Africa to join the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative. This is one of the key points coming out of a Corruption Watch webinar that took place on 22 November 2022. The webinar coincided with the launch of two reports advancing a case for greater beneficial ownership transparency in South Africa’s mining sector,
The latest Public Finance Management Act audit outcomes for the 2020/21 financial year, released on Wednesday 23 November 2022, reveal a R12-billion loss across departments due to material irregularities flagged by the office of the Auditor-General. However, there are notable improvements in the recovery of losses, strengthening of internal controls, and meting out consequences for transgressions, among others.
South Africa’s law-making regime is another casualty of the corruption and mismanagement that was prevalent during the state capture years, writes Caroline James, advocacy co-ordinator at amaBhungane. Read her detailed analysis of how a necessarily rushed submission by Corruption Watch and amaBhungane on the money laundering/terrorist financing amendment bill exposes the weakness of our legislative process.
On Tuesday 22 November 2022 Corruption Watch will host a webinar to coincide with the release of two reports advancing a case for greater beneficial ownership transparency in the mining sector, namely Beneficial Ownership Transparency in South Africa’s mining sector and The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and South Africa, respectively.
Over 100 civil society organisations – including Corruption Watch – have written to various government representatives, including National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, justice minister Ronald Lamola, police minister Bheki Cele, and the Presidency, among others, on behalf of human rights organisation Abahlali baseMjondolo. The organisations have condemned the government for doing nothing about the targeting of Abahlali leaders and activists.
International Fraud Awareness Week runs this year from 13-19 November. Locally, the Department of Water and Sanitation, together with the Special Investigating Unit and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa, are this week educating employees on corruption and fraud, and encouraging the public to continue to stand against these illegal activities.
Three years after Fishrot, Namibia’s biggest corruption scandal, broke, little has been done to implement the legislative and policy changes to which that government has committed. The gaps which enabled Fishrot are still there, says the Namibian Institute for Public Policy and Research, with Transparency International Iceland, and while those gaps still exist, corruption continues and Namibia is at risk of another Fishrot.