Whistleblower teachers are our heroes

Today is World Teachers’ Day and we’re taking the opportunity to salute those teachers who put their duties to their pupils above their own interests, and report corruption. They are our heroes for the week. The 2017 World Teachers’ Day (WTD) marks the 51st anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 International Labour Organization/Unesco Recommendation concerning Read more >

Democracy showcase makes parly committee our hero

Our heroes for this week are the members of the parliamentary ad hoc committee to select a new public protector. Given what is arguably a far from easy task – transparently and constitutionally appointing the best person to replace one of South Africa’s most admired public figures – the members deliberated robustly and sometimes heatedly, Read more >

Brave, honest car guard is our hero

Tshepo Molaoele, a car guard at The Company’s Garden in Cape Town, recently helped foil a car theft attempt by refusing to take a bribe offered by the thieves, and then tipping the police off, which led to the arrest of the criminals. For his honesty and indefatigable sense of right and wrong, we make Read more >

Well-run municipal elections produce a host of heroes

Our heroes for the week are all those who contributed to the smooth running of the 2016 local government elections. An election doesn’t only happen on the voting day, but takes many months of preparation and work behind the scenes. A typical election cycle includes steps such as the confirmation of procedures and municipal boundaries, voter Read more >

This week’s heroes aim to clean up govt procurement

In 2015 the South African government introduced a central database for service providers interested in state tenders. Then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene emphasised the need for a modern system that would be managed by Treasury with the aim of better facilitating procurement projects. About R500-billion flows through the procurement systems at different spheres of government Read more >

Corruption-blind Seriti Commission is our zero

The Seriti Commission into South Africa’s arms deal is our zero for this week for its failure to expose and curb grand corruption. The commission released its 700-plus-page report last week, after four years of the inquiry into alleged corruption in the deal. It could find no trace of corruption and declared the deal to Read more >

Forthright ConCourt our hero of the week

As Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng read out what has been termed the “Nkandla judgment” on Thursday last week, South Africans took to social media to celebrate the message in his ruling: the Constitution of the country is the paramount law of the country, and President Jacob Zuma – for having breached it – was in Read more >

Zero leaves community with no water

On the same day that Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane pleaded with South Africans to pray for rain to end the current drought, a news report in the City Press highlighted the sad state of water supply in the town of Giyani in Limpopo. A tender that is reported to have cost taxpayers R170-million Read more >

Community stands up for its rights

Until fairly recently, the small town of Barberton in Mpumalanga was not a regular feature in the news. It is home to a population of just under 70 000, with an estimated unemployment rate of about 26%, mostly affecting young people. The community was thrust into the spotlight last month when they challenged the planned merger Read more >