Parliament: Sassa/CPS setup must be investigated

UPDATE: Sassa has withdrawn its application to the Constitutional Court for an extension of the contract with Cash Paymaster Services. The agency says it will lodge the case again – but time is running out. Read more about this development.   The South African Social Services Agency’s (Sassa) relationship with social grants service provider Cash Read more >

Annual report: public does not tolerate corruption

Today, a month after its fifth birthday, Corruption Watch releases its fifth annual report. The report celebrates the almost 15 000 whistle-blowers who have approached us during the last half a decade, and also features highlights of what was a busy year for the organisation. This large volume of reports clearly indicates that the South Read more >

Shadow Report 2016: public’s right to information not upheld

New research by the Access to Information Network (ATI Network) – formerly known as the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) Civil Society Network – has revealed a shocking dereliction of duties by public and private bodies to realise South Africans’ constitutional right of access to information. The Shadow Report 2016 was compiled with Read more >

Cautious budget reflects political landscape

A lot can happen in a political year, and anyone holding Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s last two budget speeches side by side can see evidence of this. Gordhan presented his 2016/17 budget under extreme political pressure on Wednesday – amid some speculation that it may very well be his last – and thus it lacked Read more >

The real risks behind SA’s social grant payment crisis

By Andries du Toit First published on The Conversation Africa The dispute hovering over South Africa’s social grant system and threatening millions of vulnerable beneficiaries with nonpayment creates risks that go far beyond interrupting poor people’s access to desperately needed grants. The failure of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), which is responsible for Read more >

Edelman: governments, CEOs, media distrusted globally

The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer (ETB) — the 17th — was conducted online in 28 countries with over 33 000 respondents, of whom 1 150 were South African. This year, those South Africans’ distrust in government dropped even lower than last year’s almost negligible 16%, to 15%, and it is still the least trusted of Read more >

I am not the only one: CW awareness and fundraising

Today Corruption Watch launched its new campaign titled I am not the only one, with the aim of raising awareness about corruption in South Africa and motivating supporters to help fund our anti-corruption activities. Corruption is not just the government official and the businessman fixing a tender, or the licensing official who allows an unqualified Read more >

Looking out for whistleblowers’ rights

Corruption Watch is in Parliament today to make further oral submissions to the Select Committee on Security and Justice on the Protected Disclosures Act amendment bill, which was published in December 2015. This act sets out the procedure that must be followed when public and private sector employees disclose information about unlawful behaviour in the Read more >

SONA 2017: corruption low on the agenda again

Expectations that President Jacob Zuma would not address corruption with any enthusiasm in his 2017 State of the Nation Address (SONA) were not dashed – he managed just three sentences on the topic. “The fight against corruption continues,” Zuma said. “Within the National Prosecuting Authority, the Asset Forfeiture Unit completed 389 forfeiture cases to the Read more >