A former head of department in the Free State government, Mpho Mokoena, was handed a 15-year suspended sentence for corruption by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Mokoena headed up the provincial human settlements department from 2009 to 2011.
South Africa has a solid legal framework to fight money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing, However, the country has “significant shortcomings implementing an effective system, including a failure to pursue serious cases, especially those linked to so-called ‘state capture’.”
South Africa has made a better showing on the 2020 Global Defence Integrity Index, released this week by Transparency International Defence & Security. The country rose above the halfway mark to end with a score of 57/100, eight points better than the G20 average of 49/100. This also takes it out of the 62% of countries that scored 49 or less.
Defend our Democracy, an association formed in March by civil society organisations – including Corruption Watch – religious leaders and individuals, has called on the South African public to participate in a United in Action Against Corruption week, which will run from 3 to 10 December. Highlights include a march on 5 December, and the release of a CW report on whistle-blowers on 9 December.
Exposing corruption is the only way South Africa can halt its political, social and economic decline, and full protection for those who expose it is a vital first step. If this does not happen we will be failing not only the whistle-blowers but the entire nation, and we will continue to lose valuable citizens like Athol Williams and Babita Deokaran.
The second article in a series focusing on our investigation into the Public Service Commission highlights the weaknesses uncovered, and potential triumphs that could be realised if the body’s restoration drive is taken seriously.
In part 4 of our series on beneficial ownership transparency, we see that a good deal of the spate of illegal activity seen in recent years could have been alleviated, had accurate and accessible information on the true owners of companies been readily available. Continued corporate ownership opacity plays into the hands of criminals – but finally a global push for transparency is taking shape.
In part 3 of our new mini-series highlighting the current Financial Action Task Force beneficial ownership review process, we highlight the proposed amendments to Recommendation 24 and its interpretive note, with responses from stakeholders factored in.
In part 2 of our new mini-series highlighting the current Financial Action Task Force (FATF) beneficial ownership review process, we examine the five key recommendations submitted by Transparency International as a response to the FATF invitation. Part 1 presented the particular issues the financial watchdog had sought input on, part 3 will look at the FATF response to the call for submissions, and part 4 will recap a number of recent high-profile examples of why beneficial ownership transparency is so important.