Corruption and the wildlife trade

Veterinarian Mark Jones, currently programmes manager for wildlife at the UK’s Born Free Foundation, says that corruption is a huge threat to the safety of our fauna, as it facilitates the illegal trade in animal parts, especially sought-after items such as elephant ivory and rhino horns. This letter, written by him, was published in Daily Read more >

The good and bad news

By David Lewis (This article was first published in City Press) The recent Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index puts South Africa in 67th place out of the 175 countries surveyed. Those satisfied with mediocrity might think this is not too bad. People with this view must remember that our ranking dropped by about 30 places in Read more >

Timeline of events

2011 End October Law for sale report, exposing JMPD corruption, commissioned. The writer is David Bruce. 2012 26 January Corruption Watch (CW) launched 23 April CW kicks off its “No more tjo-tjo” campaign and releases the report and a “know your rights” card for road users. 23 April The City of Joburg issues press release Read more >

Special security measures for info held online

Freedom of the internet is an important part of any society that relies on digital platforms for the dissemination of valuable news and information, but when it is compromised this can easily infringe on basic human rights. In South Africa, the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (more commonly known Read more >

Hlongwane sings same tune as other witnesses

By Lee-Ann Alfreds He came, he spoke, he left. That was the sum of Fana Hlongwane’s eagerly-awaited appearance at the Arms Procurement Commission. In one of the shortest appearances on the stand, the middleman accused of pocketing hundreds of millions from the arms deal:   *  first tried to have the media banned from taking Read more >

Getting to the root of foreign bribery

“In order to fight corruption and win, we have to know our enemy,” reads the introduction to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) inaugural report on foreign bribery, released on 2 December. “Until now, there have been very few successful attempts to measure this complex and covert crime. We have been fighting in Read more >

South Africans’ reasons for not reporting corruption

A new report released last week by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reveals that more than two thirds of South African households believe that corruption has increased during the period 2010 to 2013. However, nearly half of them would not report corruption because they believe it's pointless. The report, the 2013/14 Victims of Crime survey, is Read more >

Call for transparency and meritocracy in public service

With a committed attitude of integrity in public servants, South Africa can very well start winning the fight against the scourge. These were the views shared by a panel that led discussions at the annual commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day in Pretoria on Tuesday. The event, jointly organised by the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Read more >

Licensed to Lie

Together with the FunDza Literacy Trust, we are publishing a gripping drama in seven episodes, that takes place in the licensing sector. Although it's aimed at our youth, Licensed to Lie will speak to everyone in South Africa who has come into contact with corruption. Follow it chapter by chapter! Licensed To Lie By Vixene Read more >