TI: Global enforcement against foreign bribery at record low

South Africa’s record of enforcement and prosecution against foreign bribery remains woefully low, at a time when global enforcement has dropped to its lowest level since Transparency International (TI) began measuring enforcement patterns of some of the world’s biggest exporters in 2009. When huge multinational companies bribe foreign public officials with the ultimate aim of Read more >

State capture: What to do with the offenders?

By Karam Singh and Tharin PillayFirst published in New Agenda, issue 86, third quarter 2022 South Africa’s recent history has been characterised by deep-rooted political corruption, known as state capture. For the good of the country and for every honest person in it, it is imperative that all parties implicated in this state capture are Read more >

Exposing Procurement Corruption: 10 Questions to Ask

By Richard MessickFirst published on the Global Anticorruption Blog No government activity is more susceptible to corruption than public procurement. The process by which government decides what to buy and from whom is lengthy, technically complex, and riddled with decision points that give procurement officers enormous discretion. Oversight is thus especially difficult.  Moreover, because so much Read more >

MSAA: An Act in good faith, but will it work?

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the long-awaited Municipal Systems Amendment Act (MSAA) into law on 19 August – an important legislative change in the administrative management of local government. The Act seeks to regularise the appointment and performance of municipal managers and the decision-makers around them to ensure cleaner local administrations.   But while political agendas Read more >

Access to info enhanced by AI and e-governance

Image: Unesco On 28 September the world marked the International Day for the Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). This event, established in November 2015 through UN resolution (38 C/70) and first commemorated in 2016, aims to facilitate international discussions on policy and guidelines in this important area.  Access to information plays an important role in Read more >

Mosebenzi Zwane, two others arrested as NPA keeps Guptas in sight

Source: Legalbrief The National Prosecuting Authority is injecting new life into its Estina Dairy Project investigation with yesterday’s arrest of former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Sahara employee Ugeshni Govender and a former director of Islandsite, Ronica Ragavan, as it attempts to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta on the same matter, while targeting other associates linked to the fugitive family, notes Legalbrief. Read more >

From then to now – the heritage of corruption 

By Lesedi Masoko “The existent level of corruption in developing countries across Africa, is high because it is entrenched in its historical roots of colonialism.” This is the view of scholars Luis Angeles and Kyriakos C. Neanidis, written in their 2014 journal article titled The Persistent Effect of Colonialism on Corruption. On this Heritage Day Read more >

Safeguarding our democracy in the age of growing mistrust

Electoral democracy – a democratic government based on a system that enables all citizens to select one candidate from a list of competitors for political office in a process of election. Each citizen becomes a voter who casts a secret ballot indicating their choices. In order for the election to qualify for democratic integrity, the Read more >