Minister goes to court

By Lorraine Louw Public hearings planned for this week in the commission of inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, have been cancelled. This comes after Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, national commissioner General Riya Phiyega, provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer and others filed papers in the Western Cape High Court on 6 November to Read more >

UK Bribery Act encourages culture of bribery prevention

  By Wilma den Hartigh   South African companies operating in the UK could find themselves in trouble if they don’t comply with the country’s new Bribery Act. The new law, which came into force on 1 July 2011, is also drawing attention locally as it contains important lessons that could help South Africa in Read more >

Click-through civic action

By Nicky Rehbock   One of the dominant themes of the 15th Anti-Corruption Conference in Brasilia was the role of civil society in fighting corruption. Simply put, civil society is a space outside one’s family, state or economy where people can group together to support action on a set of issues. Corruption Watch was sponsored Read more >

Bethal ghost teacher exposed

  An Mpumalanga primary school teacher has robbed South African taxpayers of thousands of rands in salary cheques she collected while she was nowhere near the classroom, but rather was nurturing her estate agent career, with the blessing of the school principal.   Kobus du Plessis, the head of HM Swart Laerskool in Bethal, knowingly Read more >

Three-pronged corruption attack needed

  The fight against corruption needs a practical, integrated approach that includes governments, private sectors and civil society working together – that was one of the main messages coming out of a recent session at Transparency International’s 15th Anti-Corruption Conference taking place in Brasilia, Brazil, from 7 to 10 November.   Corruption Watch has been Read more >

Who guards the guardians

  The cost of financial misconduct in government departments has increased, but reports about such transgressions have dropped. This would be a simple statement if it did not signal the devastating extent of state corruption in South Africa and talk of the moral bankruptcy of senior public servants.   How can those entrusted with state Read more >

Nxesi dodges questions on Nkandla upgrade

  On 30 September, City Press reported that the Department of Public Works had approved a budget in March in 2011, to revamp President Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla, in KwaZulu-Natal. Proposed renovations include building helipads, sports fields, underground bunkers and fencing the entire complex. The article caused a huge public outcry, to which Nxesi Read more >

Khayelitsha hearings to start

  By Lorraine Louw   The Commission of Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha published its hearing plan yesterday, despite a call from the national minister of police to halt proceedings.   It said that during the first week of hearings, from 12 to 15 November, it would hear evidence from a range of different witnesses. Read more >

Cwele derails progress

  The progress made in the fight against the secrecy bill was reversed this week when State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele asked MPs to reconsider the decision to scrap a highly contested clause, a move that would further stifle the free flow of information and transparency in South Africa.   Minister Siyabonga Cwele is our Read more >