CORRUPTION NEWS

MFMA report: officials continue to squander municipal millions

By Thato Mahlangu Municipalities continue to waste billions of rands through corruption-related activities, the Auditor-General of South African (AGSA) revealed on Tuesday. Auditor-general (AG) Kimi Makwetu said in his 2018/19 Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) audit report that municipalities should ask themselves if they are investing in qualitative and preventative measures which would help to Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

DPSA acts against govt officials doing business with state

The revised code of conduct for South Africa’s public servants came into effect on 1 August 2016. Among others, it prohibits public servants from doing any form of business with organs of state, whether in as individuals or through companies in which they hold directorships. This has not stopped thousands from doing just that. Back Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Reflecting on the bravery of whistle-blowers

By Thato Mahlangu Justice for some whistle-blowers seems like an unlikely dream. As we marked World Whistle-blower Day on 23 June 2020, one of our own is in pain in a hospital, in the Eastern Cape, after suffering years of abuse at the hands of police while fighting for genuine concerns which have been raised Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Zuma’s day in court finally rolls around

Now that the inevitable can’t be put off any longer, former president Jacob Zuma is making a show of impatience for the start of his corruption trial. Zuma has been ducking and diving accountability for years in what has been referred to as a classic Stalingrad defence, but now that his options have run out, Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Refugees’ rights must be respected

• A painting by Gunduz Aghayev depicts Aylan Kurdi playing on the sand. Image: Gunduz Aghayev By Thato Mahlangu Millions of people continue to be displaced in different parts of the world. A 2019 global trends survey by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) reveals how at least 100-million people were forced to flee their Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Poor planning a factor in food parcel corruption

By Thato Mahlangu Accountability is in short supply for the widely publicised allegations of food parcel corruption, despite the abundance of videos circulating on social media that seem to indicate the complicity of certain individuals. Since the start of the lockdown, almost three months ago, the economy has nosedived and millions of families have been Read more >

NEWS

The poor are hungry as wrangle rages on

• Bags of maize meal being handed out to members of the public in KwaZulu-Natal. Image: Tebogo Letsie/City Press. By Janine ErasmusFirst published by City Press South Africa is still a country of inequality, and the Covid-19 coronavirus-enforced lockdown has intensified the deep divisions in our society. On one hand, there are people stuck in Read more >

NEWS

Marikana caught in politicised food parcels storm

Image: Sabeehah Motala By Valencia Talane A community in Marikana, Rustenburg, in the North West is learning the hard way the cost of being poor and not politically connected during the Covid-19 lockdown. They are caught up in a political storm that is costing them the most urgent need, food. And a ward councillor in Read more >