POLICY AND ADVOCACY

G20 drops ball on beneficial ownership

The G20 has not delivered on promises to tackle issues of beneficial ownership – this is revealed in a report released on Thursday by Transparency International. In November 2014 the G20 countries – of which South Africa is one – met in Brisbane. Among the topics up for discussion was the question of beneficial ownership. Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Defence anti-corruption index exposes SA weaknesses

Ahead of the G20 summit, which this year takes place in Antalya, Turkey, on 15 and 16 November, Transparency International UK’s Defence and Security Programme has launched the results of the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) for these states, including South Africa. The GI measures the risk of corruption in national defence and security establishments Read more >

INVESTIGATION

CW report results in new policy for principals

Corruption Watch’s work is never-ending – every day, it seems, there is something new to be concerned about. But there are also times when we can proudly say that our efforts are making a real impact – such as yesterday, when Gauteng’s education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced that principals at schools in the province would Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Anti-corruption unit arrest rate down 83%

The Ministry of Police has confirmed that the number of arrests and convictions relating to serious crime has dropped sharply since the launch of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations – better known as the Hawks – in 2009. This is according to information obtained in a reply to a parliamentary question put forward in Read more >

CAMPAIGNS

Anyone can help to unmask the corrupt

Global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International’s (TI) two-year campaign titled Unmask the Corrupt was launched in September 2014. The campaign seeks to root out a specific form of corruption in government, business and civil society – that of transferring stolen assets across international borders by using shell companies, companies with opaque ownership structures, and money laundering. Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

SA firms’ biggest corruption risk? Government deals.

Of the 824 companies interviewed by Control Risks for its annual survey, 30% named corrupt competitors as a major cost to international business. And 41% of respondents said the perceived risk of corruption was the main reason they had shut a deal down. The global business risk consultancy released its 2015/2016 International Business Attitudes to Read more >

OUTREACH AND EVENTS

Activators lead in issues of national interest

By Lwazi Nongauza Gauteng Activators joined dozens of young people from Gauteng in robust dialogue about youth participation in elections, at Corruption Watch’s third Integrity Lecture last week. The event took place in Braamfontein at Constitution Hill on 23 October. The Corruption Watch youth campaign event Youth To The Polls was hosted by human rights Read more >

INVESTIGATION

Success for CW in school investigation

Corruption Watch released its latest schools report last week – the publication centred on 10 investigations conducted by the organisation, and highlighted the main areas of corruption in schools, the key players in this type of corruption and the heroic work of whistleblowers. Based on experience, it also made some recommendations on how to mitigate Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Lewis: Too few firms with good governance records

South Africa has some “excellent institutions”, such as the South African Reserve Bank, the National Treasury, financial regulators, the competition authorities, the JSE and the sophisticated justice system that are “keeping the country afloat”, said Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis, speaking at the Chartered Secretaries’ Premier Corporate Governance conference on Tuesday. Discussing the topic Read more >