In the 2022 edition of Exporting Corruption, global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International assesses 47 leading export countries according to their enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. South Africa, which is a signatory to the convention, falls among a sorry group of 38 countries where enforcement is poor or non-existent.
Given the clear lack of capacity in prosecutorial institutions, particularly the National Prosecuting Authority, will some form of amnesty encourage state capture perpetrators to come forward to ‘clean the slate’ or, as argued by Corruption Watch’s Karam Singh and Tharin Pillay, would post-Zondo South Africa be better served by capacitating pre-existing anti-corruption institutions and developing new, stronger and more effective means to hold the corrupt accountable?
Public procurement is a complex field, and one that is especially susceptible to corruption. In this article, Richard Messick of the Global Anticorruption Blog puts forward 10 useful questions that can be used as a starting point to scrutinise government procurement, from small stationary items to major infrastructure.
The local government sector in South Africa is the interface between the state and the citizens it delivers services to, but it is generally fraught with maladministration and corruption, and suffers under political interference. The recent signing into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa of the long-awaited Municipal Systems Amendment Act is a welcome intervention in the quest for good governance for the sector. The question is, will it be simple to implement?
The necessity of improved access to information must be balanced with the privacy of personal information. Both are essential rights and each must complement the other. This question, and more, were under discussion at a Unesco event on 28 September, to mark the International Day for the Universal Access to Information.
Corruption Watch continues this week with its work under the European Union Rallying Efforts to Accelerate Progress project. The organisation, which is the project lead in South Africa, will hold engagements with various communities in Mpumalanga from 4 – 7 October 2022.
Former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane is out on R20 000 bail after his arrest yesterday and appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court. Zwane and two others were arrested on charges of fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering in connection with the Free State’s failed Estina Dairy Farm project, which was meant to support communities but instead enriched a corrupt few.
If your bank account is used to transfer the proceeds of crime – even if you are not aware of it – you may face prosecution and other unpleasant sanctions, if caught. This is the warning that Interpol wants you to heed. Through its recent campaign #YourAccountYourCrime, the police organisation highlights the role of money mules in the movement of ill-gotten gains.
Corruption Watch will embark on a three-day series of community engagements in KwaZulu-Natal from Tuesday 27 – Thursday 29 September 2022, with a focus on how coal-mining operations affect various communities in the province. The engagements fall under the organisation’s work for the European Union Rallying Efforts to Accelerate Progress project,
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.