22 January 2012 – Corruption Watch welcomes the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan’s call for the public to report incidents of corruption to the new civil society initiative and official reporting channels.

 

“The call for people to speak out and report corrupt behaviour is integral to combating corruption,” said executive director, David Lewis.

 

Corruption Watch, a Cosatu and civil society initiative, collects information about corrupt behaviour and practices from the public. This information will be used to investigate, research, and mobilise the public against corruption.

 

Since its launch this year January, an increasing number of corruption incidents have been posted daily on the Corruption Watch website portal at www.corruptionwatch.org.za and reported via the SMS hotline 45142.

 

“The more reports the better. This is one of the most important contributions from the public. We are already investigating some of the cases brought to our attention via the website postings.  Soon, we will be in a position to aggregate the individual reports in order to identify hot spots of corruption.”

Lewis said also notable in the Ministers speech was the plan to introduce tighter control measures in government procurement processes and tender systems.

 

“We are finding through our research and incidents reported that weak procurement processes, directly linked to poor management, create opportunities for corrupt practices. Tougher control will go a long way in preventing corruption.”    A pledge against corruption can be signed here.

 

For more information:

Bongi Mlangeni

Corruption Watch

Head of Communication
 

Tel:   +27 (0)11 447 1472
Fax:  +27 (0)11 447 2696

Cell: +27 (0)76 862 9086

Direct line: +27 (0) 11 214 7140
Email: bongiwem@corruptionwatch.org.za

Excerpt

Corruption Watch welcomes the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan’s call for the public to report incidents of corruption to the new civil society initiative and official reporting channels.