Gauteng govt depts need better ethics management

More than half of the government departments in Gauteng have no ethics management strategy in place to avoid risks in this area, according to a report by the Public Service Commission (PSC) that was released late in 2017 for the provincial legislature. The State of the Public Service in the Gauteng Province report “assesses the Read more >

eKurhuleni municipal mismanagement exposed

By Kwazi Dlamini When municipalities neglect to follow procurement processes, the end result is a large sum of irregular expenditure, meaning that it does not conform to any applicable legislation or regulations. In June 2017, auditor-general Kimi Makwethu released his municipal audit findings for 2015/16, and while he alluded to a slight improvement in the Read more >

SGB elections: your chance to make a change!

School governing body (SGB) elections are currently under way, and will be until the end of March. Parents and guardians are strongly urged to take note of the date on which the voting will take place at their child’s school. The theme for this year’s elections is Be active, Be Principled. Vote wisely. Njalo!.  Participation Read more >

Public protector Mkhwebane under fire

When asked in a recent interview how it makes her feel to see and hear mainstream and social media commentary referring to her office as not being independent, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane simply replied: “It is easy for people to say that, when they have not heard the other side of the story.” She was Read more >

Innocence Betrayed – a FunDza/CW youth story

Together with the FunDza Literacy Trust, we now publish our fifth youth-targeted story, Innocence Betrayed, a story about abuse of power and how sometimes people in authority are seen to be untouchable. Catch up with our previous youth-focused stories, also produced in partnership with FunDza – Licensed to Lie, The Whistleblowers, Pay-off and Reputation Thieves. Read more >

Police overhaul needed to eradicate state capture taint

By Gareth Newham First published on the Institute for Security Studies Now that South Africa has undergone a profound political shift with the appointment of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the hard work of rebuilding various state institutions must begin. This is certainly true for law enforcement and intelligence agencies that were severely weakened by maladministration and Read more >

Global financial secrecy revealed in the 2018 FSI

The 2018 Financial Secrecy Index (FSI), an initiative of the Tax Justice Network (TJN), was launched recently. The FSI ranks jurisdictions according to their secrecy and the scale of their offshore financial activities. It shies away from being political, positioning itself instead as a tool for understanding global financial secrecy, tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions, Read more >

Bank of Baroda played key role in SA’s Gupta scandal

By Khadija Sharife (OCCRP) and Josy Joseph (The Hindu) First published on OCCRP India’s state-owned Bank of Baroda – one of the country’s largest – played a crucial role in the financial machinations of South Africa’s politically influential Gupta family, allowing them to move hundreds of millions of dollars originating in alleged dirty deals into Read more >

SOE shake-up on the cards – SA waits for action

Between the pronouncement made on planned anti-corruption efforts during his maiden state of the nation address (Sona) on 16 February this year, and his Cabinet announcement of this past Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa seems to be serious about his administration’s planned restoration of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).  It remains to be seen, however, if the interventions Read more >