A new study titled Convergence of wildlife crime with other forms of organised crime, released in May 2021 by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), sheds light on this phenomenon of crime convergence, which has been noticed more and more over the last two decades. The report shows that criminal networks are dealing in wildlife Read more >
UPDATE, 20 July 2021: Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke has advised the Independent Electoral Commission to postpone the upcoming local government elections, scheduled for 27 October this year. Moseneke has recommended that February 2022 be the new target, as only by then would 40% of the population be vaccinated and a herd immunity state Read more >
Consider this statement: “Bribes can make up to 10% of the wholesale value of ivory in Asia.” And given that according to an investigation by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), raw ivory currently commands a price of between US$597/kg and $689/kg, on the Asian market – down from a mind-boggling high of $2 100/kg in Read more >
By Erica Emdon and Jacob van GarderenFirst published on Maverick Citizen In 2018, Corruption Watch published its Mining Royalties research report, which looked at equity benefits and compensation flowing from mining, and whether these were reaching mining-affected communities. It concluded that widespread corruption was evident and that, overall, the communities most affected by mining were Read more >
By Kwazi Dlamini Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke has called on leadership at both political and administrative level to make a determined commitment to tackling the scourge of corruption and irregular expenditure in local government. The consequences will be dire otherwise. Delivering her consolidated annual Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) report on local government for the Read more >
Presidency was a no-show for a hearing of the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, that was meant to receive feedback on the progress of high-profile corruption reports overseen by the country’s law enforcement agencies. This despite having been furnished with Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports – among them the recently completed Read more >
By Kwazi Dlamini Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke continues to raise concerns with the way local governments have handled the Covid-19 relief funds. Maluleke released the third special audit report on Covid-19 related initiatives, together with the 2019/20 Municipal Finance Management Act report – which we cover in an upcoming article – and 43 municipalities were put under the microscope for several reasons. They include municipalities which contributed the highest amount for irregular Read more >
President Cyril Ramaphosa did not mislead Parliament in November 2018 when he told it that Bosasa (later Africa Global Operations, AGO) made a payment of R500 000 not to his CR17 campaign for AND president, but to his son Andile for work done for Bosasa. So says the Constitutional Court, which delivered a comprehensive ruling Read more >
Former president Jacob Zuma is to present himself to either the Nkandla or the Johannesburg central police stations by this weekend in order to be delivered to a correctional centre where he will start serving a 15-month jail sentence, the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday. This after the court found him guilty of contempt of Read more >