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 >
The Corruption Watch (CW) 2020 annual report, titled From Crisis to Action, reflects the extent to which all organisations and individuals in South Africa witnessed and experienced the massive impact of the global coronavirus pandemic. During this period the public was increasingly outraged by the rampant corruption that emerged in relation to procurement and distribution Read more >
By Janine Erasmus Fifty years ago the concept might have been taken from a science fiction plot. Now it’s one of the new technologies that become more sophisticated as time passes. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms to track down suspicious activity is a reality – but can we trust them to reveal illicit financial Read more >
Image: Centre for Environmental Rights By Matshidiso DibakwaneFirst published in City Press After receiving a number of reports from mining-affected communities in the North West, Corruption Watch undertook to advocate for the release of the Mafereka commission report, which has not seen the light of day, years after its submission to the premier’s office. The Read more >
Transparency International (TI) is encouraging citizens to get involved with their government’s Covid-19 vaccination regimes and systems. Any citizen has a right to know how their government’s decisions are made and taxpayer resources are spent. Especially when it comes to health issues, citizens are entitled to transparency regarding decisions and actions that are taken on Read more >
Two factors make the upcoming local government elections like no other we’ve experienced – the Covid-19 pandemic, and the imminent enforcement of the Political Party Funding Act, due to commence on 1 April 2021. The elections are scheduled to take place between 4 August and 1 November, and will be the sixth municipal election held Read more >
Image: Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0 By James StentFirst published on GroundUp Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) board members and executives, Department of Transport (DoT) officials, and Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula were in for a grilling from Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) when they were called to account for Read more >