In September 2018 the Constitutional Court handed down unanimous judgment on then social development minister Bathabile Dlamini’s personal liability in the matter of costs relating to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) extending the contract of grants distributor Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) despite a finding in 2013 that the contract was invalid. But Sassa Read more >
Former president Jacob Zuma has been dodging corruption charges for 16 years. Since 2005, when those charges of racketeering, money laundering, corruption and fraud relating to the 1999 arms deal were first brought against him, he has been more slippery than a pig in mud. Mud dries up eventually, though, and so it is with Read more >
In 2016 Corruption Watch (CW) and Right2Know (R2K) challenged the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Fraud, Corruption and Wrongdoing in the Strategic Defence Procurement Package (the Seriti commission). The two organisations argued that the commission misled the public by exonerating politicians and public servants of any wrongdoing relating to the arms Read more >
In part 3 of our new mini-series on financial secrecy, we focus on the Corporate Tax Haven Index (CTHI), published by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) – the 2021 edition, released in March, is the second since 2019. Part 1 of the series looked at the definition of and gave information on secrecy jurisdictions and Read more >
Today, 3 May, is World Press Freedom Day, when the struggles and hostility faced by many whistle-blowers and journalists, especially in countries where freedom of speech and freedom of the press is restricted, is commemorated. This year’s event goes by the theme of Information as a Public Good. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by Read more >
The term ‘secrecy jurisdiction’ might, for many, conjure up the image of a fortified bank vault deep underground in a Swiss city, or a tropical island teeming with wealthy individuals and located far away from troublesome laws and regulations. And indeed, the world’s greatest enabler of global financial secrecy is currently the sunny Cayman Islands, Read more >
In our new mini-series we’ll delve into the issue of financial secrecy – what it is, who enables it, how does it affect economies, which are the big culprits, and what role does corruption play? The series is based on two reports released by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) – the biennial Financial Secrecy Index, Read more >
Image: Mary-Anne Gontsana By Mary-Anne GontsanaFirst published on GroundUp Khayelitsha residents have raised their concerns over the long wait for an additional police station. But the South African Police Service (SAPS) says it cannot provide a timeframe for when the station will be built or when it will be fully operational. Delivering his budget speech Read more >
The latest national and provincial government audit outcomes, released by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) on 31 March, show “signs of improvement” in some auditees, according to Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke. The work was conducted under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and covered the financial year of 2019-2020. Besides the provincial and national departments, Read more >