Entries by Corruption Watch

MEDIA ADVISORY: CW to release report focusing on local government corruption

13th August 2021 in , , /by

Corruption Watch will release its next report South Africa needs clean hands on Wednesday 18 August 2021. Based on complaints the organisation has received from the public, this report homes in on the extent to which municipalities have been captured to serve private interests, how municipal managers have abused their power, and how procurement irregularities have diverted resources for essential services, resulting in communities deprived of basic human rights and services.

Mining royalties will only improve lives when they reach the proper beneficiaries

13th August 2021 in , , /by

A Corruption Watch follow-up report on mining royalties, released on 12 August, emphasises that in order for mining royalties to truly benefit the communities on whose land mining takes place, the rightful beneficiaries must be clearly identified. These are almost always the families and villages who are directly impacted by mining, and not the government officials, traditional leaders, consultants, mine employees, and others who have eagerly taken their cut out of royalties they did not deserve.

CW report probes solutions for benefits to mining-affected communities

12th August 2021 in , , , /by

Today Corruption Watch released a new research report, Improving Transparency and Accountability in the Flow of Benefits to Mining Communities, and an accompanying overview of the related legislation. The report explores the best interventions to shape mechanisms designed to channel benefits to communities, while improving transparency and accountability, and rooting out the corruption and fraud that has dogged the mining industry for so long.

AGSA one of only two audit institutions worldwide ranked fully independent

11th August 2021 in , , /by

South Africa’s Auditor-General, with the corresponding office in the Seychelles, are the only two supreme audit institutions (SAIs) ranked by the World Bank as having the full independence to do their work. This was revealed in an assessment of 118 SAIs, the Supreme Audit Institutions Independence Index: 2021 Global Synthesis Report, released by the World Bank on 4 August 2021.

Accelerating beneficial ownership transparency in Africa

10th August 2021 in , /by

Sustaining momentum and accelerating the implementation of beneficial ownership disclosure will remain key in regional efforts to tackle corporate secrecy in Africa, write Maureen Kariuki, Karabo Rajuiliand, and Edwin Wuadom Warden for the Open Government Partnership. The continent’s efforts to mobilise its vast resources remain hamstrung by corporate anonymity, which facilitates illicit financial flows and the loss of billions of dollars every year.

Corruption as an enabler of wildlife, forest and fisheries crime: part 4

6th August 2021 in , /by

In recent years the illegal perlemoen trade has overlapped with the increased flow of drugs such as methamphetamine (tik) and methaqualone (white pipe) into and methamphetamine to South Africa, with the former commodity being traded for the latter. Corruption plays a part in this, as does lax policing, poor regulation, and a huge demand for the marine delicacy from the Far East.

CW submits comments on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill 2020

4th August 2021 in , , , /by

Corruption Watch has submitted comments on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill 2020, focusing on four issues: firearm ownership for self-defence, accountability in relation to firearm ownership, accountability of police and official institutions, and the Firearms Appeal Board. However, we cautioned that legislative amendments alone will not be effective in reducing violent crime, if we continue to have a weak, infiltrated, and ineffective policing service.