CORRUPTION NEWS

Staff turnover at the Seriti Commission

By Lee-Ann Alfreds The Arms Procurement Commission is ending as it started – dogged by resignations. One year almost to the day after it was forced to delay the start of public hearings because of the resignation of one of its commissioners, the Seriti Commission – which is probing allegations of graft and corruption in Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Arms deal lessons of more value than cancellations

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Raenette Taljaard is one of democracy's champions – a World Economic Forum young global leader, a Yale World Fellow, holder of two master's degrees, published author, distinguished academic, one of the youngest women ever to be elected to South Africa’s Parliament, political studies lecturer at Cape Town University, and a knowledgeable critic Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Mdluli fraud charges finally stick

In April we reported on the continuing efforts of Richard Mdluli, former head of the police crime intelligence division, to fight off prosecution on a range of charges – murder and intimidation, money-laundering and fraud – relating to various incidents that happened during his controversial career. These incidents include the shooting in 1999 of Oupa Ramogibe, Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Gabriella Razzano: evangelist for openness

By Valencia Talane A transparent system of government that encourages access to information for its citizens as well as freedom of expression, while protecting those who question its decisions and motives, may be an unrealistic concept for many. For the team of activists at the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), however, it is the proverbial Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Good and bad of audit reports

  By Valencia Talane Depending on which way you look at it, the municipal audit report for the 2012/13 financial year offers either a positive or a miserable outlook for South Africa's local government landscape. The report was published last week by the auditor-general, Kimi Makwetu. As Pravin Gordhan, the minister in charge of local Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Strengthening prosecutorial accountability in SA

As gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, prosecutors are its most powerful officials. Prosecutors’ considerable discretion – about whom to charge and for which crimes – affects the lives and fate of thousands of criminal suspects, and the safety and security of all citizens. Yet, in South Africa, no dedicated oversight and accountability mechanism scrutinises Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Arms deal: seven facts that aren’t going away

Source: Anine Kriegler, Right2Know A recurring line from those trying to dismiss allegations of corruption in the arms deal is: “Show us the evidence.” During his testimony at the Seriti Commission two weeks ago, former president Mbeki took an opportunity to lash out at critics, saying: “For all of these years we have been saying, let Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Nicky Rehbock: our woman in Berlin

Valencia Talane Many young people from around the world gathered in Brazil in November 2012 for the Transparency International (TI) annual anti-corruption conference. One of those was Nicky Rehbock, who was the editor of the Corruption Watch website at the time. She was so moved by the work of the global organisation – and particularly Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Gordhan questions the rules

Valencia Talane The one-size-fits-all approach to the governance standards of local government does not work and needs a rethink, according to Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan, who was responding to the latest auditor-general report on municipalities on 30 July, said that the standard requirements for metro municipalities, for example, could not Read more >