Entries by Corruption Watch

ConCourt ruling vindicates CW in public participation case

1 August 2025 in , , , /by

The Constitutional Court on Friday handed down a unanimous judgment finding that the National Assembly failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate reasonable public involvement in recommending persons to be appointed to Chapter 9 institutions. Corruption Watch had approached the court to have the 2022 appointments of five members of the Commission for Gender Equality declared invalid, based on the legislature’s rushed and limited approach in seeking public submissions on the process.

SA police serve the ANC insiders, not the people: here’s how it happened

30 July 2025 in , /by

To depoliticise the police service and redirect its attention and activities towards crime and emergencies, writes governance and public management expert Ivor Chipkin, a crucial first step is to reconsider the appointment processes for the national police commissioner and other top managers.
Under the current system the president has sole discretion, Chipkin says, which makes party-political considerations a given. Without structural changes, genuine democratic policing will remain an elusive ideal.

Madlanga commission terms of reference gazetted

28 July 2025 in , /by

President Cyril Ramaphosa has gazetted the upcoming Madlanga inquiry into law enforcement corruption. The gazette also includes the terms of reference which lay out the scope of the inquiry, and other regulations which guide its work. Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga will preside as chairperson, with Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC and Advocate Sandile Khumalo assisting.

SA public largely indifferent to the party funding act, distrustful of politics

25 July 2025 in , , , /by

With local government elections coming up next year, it is not too early to start thinking about voting-related matters. The recent symposium on political funding in South Africa, hosted in Durban by the Independent Electoral Commission, brought together key stakeholders to assess progress in the four years since the promulgation of the Political Party Funding Act – now known as the Political Funding Act – which came into force on 1 April 2021.

Corruption Watch condemns threats and attacks on Abahlali and SERI

21 July 2025 in , , /by

Corruption Watch strongly condemns the recent threats, physical violence, and verbal attacks on human rights defenders Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute, and the South African Human Rights Commission by anti-immigrant organisation Operation Dudula and its allied groups. Denying immigrants their constitutional rights to healthcare is not the answer to the situation of poor service delivery in the public health system.

Bribery in South Africa: law now puts a duty on companies to act

17 July 2025 in , /by

The recent addition to South Africa’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act means the failure of companies and SOEs to prevent bribery and corruption is now a criminal offence. Companies can avoid liability under the new law, writes Prof Rehana Cassim for The Conversation: Africa, if they can prove they had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery by associated persons.

Have your say on the IEC’s e-voting discussion document by end Sept 2025

15 July 2025 in , /by

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa calls on all South Africans to comment on the potential implementation of electronic voting systems in the country’s electoral processes. The commission has released a discussion document which outlines all the details on its reasons for considering e-voting, current research, country case studies, legal implications, how the process will unfold, and more. The deadline for submissions on the document is Tuesday 30 September 2025.

Commission of inquiry into police corruption way overdue

14 July 2025 in , , , /by

As far back as 2019, CW and the Institute for Security Studies submitted a joint submission to the Zondo commission, highlighting how organised crime had flourished during the years of state capture, and the extent to which criminal justice agencies were manipulated for political and personal gain. The organisation is disappointed that it has taken President Cyril Ramaphosa a further six years to realise the urgency of probing the allegations of criminal infiltration into law enforcement agencies in South Africa.