Departments acting against financial corruption

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has submitted to Parliament its annual fact sheet on finalised cases of financial misconduct, from national and provincial government departments, for the 2011/2012 financial year. The PSC, a government organisation that investigates, monitors and evaluates the organisation and administration of the public service, has been tracking such finalised cases since Read more >

Macosa: school of shame

By Gcina Ntsaluba It’s an accepted fact that, for various reasons, the national basic education department is under-performing, and the ones who stand to lose the most are the children. The lack of furniture at Eastern Cape schools, particularly, is one of the major problems crippling learners and teachers, mostly in rural schools in the Read more >

Colluding employees face the music

Earlier in 2013, news broke of widespread collusion and bid rigging in the construction industry. The scandal ended with 15 construction firms fined by the Competition Commission for colluding and rigging bids for, among other large projects, 2010 Fifa World Cup infrastructure. The fines totalled R1.46-billion. One of the firms implicated, Aveng, has punished employees Read more >

The Auditor and the Hitmen

Source: Sacsis Recently Corruption Watch celebrated the late Lawrence Moepi as a hero in the fight against corruption. The forensic auditor was shot and killed in broad daylight as he arrived at his office in Houghton, and his murder has sparked condemnation and anxiety in auditing circles, as practitioners speak out about their fears of Read more >

Schools quintile system to change?

By Lee-Ann Collingridge So far we have examined the roles of school principals and governing bodies, and explained how no-fees schools work. In the third of our schools articles we discuss the categorisation of schools for the purpose of government funding. For the last 17 years, all public schools in South Africa have been funded Read more >

Clinic fraudsters taste their own medicine

The Sowetan newspaper yesterday reported a sting operation which resulted in the arrest of health officials involved in a syndicate fraudulently selling ARVs to patients who were supposed to get them for free. Although there were a few heroes involved, we single out the anonymous whistleblower who started it all – he is the Corruption Read more >

How money is managed at no-fee schools

By Lee-Ann Collingridge In our previous article we detailed the roles of principals and school governing bodies in managing a school. In this article we move on to explaining the rules pertaining to the management of funds at no-fee schools. Like Section 21 schools, no-fee schools are supposed to pay for everything i.e. textbooks, stationary, Read more >

Charter to improve standards of public service

By Kabelo Sedupane South Africa faces critical challenges in its public service – we only have to look at recent events involving public servants of all levels, to understand this. These challenges deeply affect the lives of all the country’s citizens. Many of these recurring challenges are rooted in corruption, maladministration and inefficient governance and Read more >

Ministers are subject to the law

Dear CW Following the arrest of two officials in her department, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant recently spoke out against corruption. It’s all good to be fighting corruption in departments but shouldn’t we be starting at the top? Are there any laws that govern the conduct of ministers and if so, what can be done if Read more >