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$1-trillion-plus estimated to have left Africa illegally

by Khayalethu Hamana Over the past 50 years, Africa is estimated to have lost more than $1-trillion in illicit financial flows, but this may well fall short of reality, because accurate data does not exist for many countries. The estimates often exclude illicit flows, such as the proceeds of bribery and the trafficking of drugs, Read more >

Community stands up for its rights

Until fairly recently, the small town of Barberton in Mpumalanga was not a regular feature in the news. It is home to a population of just under 70 000, with an estimated unemployment rate of about 26%, mostly affecting young people. The community was thrust into the spotlight last month when they challenged the planned merger Read more >

Annual report 2015: a year of intense public participation

In its annual report for 2015, released today, Corruption Watch highlights the power of public participation in the fight against corruption. Since we launched in January 2012, we’ve received more than 10 000 reports. This public activism was reflected in several events during 2015, such as the student fees protests, various anti-xenophobia and –corruption marches, Read more >

Bua Mzansi: The importance of the Public Protector

Described by our Supreme Court of Appeal as a “watchdog”, the Public Protector is also often compared to an ombudsman, which is an institution that originated in Sweden, created to ensure that public officials acted in terms of the law and discharged their duties properly. There are now a large number of such institutions around Read more >

CW holds procurement workshop with CESA, GIZ

Corruption Watch and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH), in collaboration with Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), hosted a workshop on 24 and 25 February in Johannesburg for consulting engineers operating within the procurement space. The aim of the workshop was to train consulting engineers and selected Corruption Watch reporters on the interpretation and Read more >

Tackle corruption by keeping communities in the picture

  By David Lewis Despite the perennial hype surrounding the budget, as long as we have a sane finance minister the “hard” content is inevitably pretty predictable. A good budget is generally a paragon of moderation. Unless it succumbs to special-interest pressure, it won’t slash and burn, and it won’t throw money from a helicopter. Read more >

Economic crime in SA outstrips global average

Two years ago PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed in their 2014 Global Economic Crime Survey that 69% of respondents indicating they had experienced some form of economic crime in the 24 months preceding the survey. In the latest edition of the professional services firm’s biennial survey, released on Tuesday, that trend has remained exactly the same. Two-thirds Read more >

Business can be part of the corruption solution

Corruption Watch’s mission is to encourage and enable public participation in combating corruption, said the organisation’s executive director David Lewis. He was speaking at a recent panel discussion at the Wits Business School, where the role of business in fighting corruption in South Africa came under the spotlight, The discussion was led by Lewis, with Read more >

Millions in unauthorised transactions

Our zero this week is South African Rugby Union (Saru) boss Jurie Roux, who is under the spotlight for alleged manipulation of money during his tenure at Stellenbosch University (SU) as its director of financial planning. According to Netwerk24, a KPMG investigation report – which the media company has made available online – fingers Roux Read more >