Addressing a gap – how to better support civil society

By Kersty McCourtFirst published on Open Government Partnership Robust and vibrant civil societies play a critical role in contributing to development. Civil society helps shape policies, advocate for the needs and demands of citizens, provide essential services, protect human rights, and strengthen public participation in democracy. Yet, over the past decade, there has been insufficient Read more >

CW to release 2022 annual corruption report

Corruption Watch (CW) will release its 11th annual corruption report, titled Accelerating justice, on Tuesday, 4 April 2023. The report comes at a low point in South Africa’s history, as the country as grapples with the consequences of widespread corruption and deterioration of systems and services, with slow or weak accountability mechanisms. More than a Read more >

Beneficial ownership transparency in Africa slowly gaining ground

A report released in mid-March 2023 by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) shows a slow but steady implementation of beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) regulations across the African continent. Titled Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Africa in 2022, the report reveals the state of play of the introduction of laws addressing the lack of BOT, and examines Read more >

CSOs demand clarity, transparency in emergency procurement

As civil society organisations dedicated to building an accountable, democratic and capable state, the government’s new disaster management regulations are cause for alarm. The electricity crisis is destroying the livelihoods of our people. We believe that urgent action is needed to address it. The new emergency procurement provisions, however, threaten more corruption and inefficiency. The Read more >

CIPC says SA’s beneficial ownership register almost here

Plans are afoot to tackle South Africa’s lackadaisical beneficial ownership regime. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has announced that it will implement a beneficial ownership (BO) information collection and storage regime as soon as regulations in that regard are promulgated. Greater BO transparency is a crucial component in the fight against financial crime. Read more >

CSOs demand that Prasa cease harassing whistle-blowers

Image: Col André Kritzinger, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Addressed to:  Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Office of the President of the Republic of South Africa Office of the Speaker of Parliament Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport  PRASA, hands off whistleblowers   We, the undersigned organisations, call on the Passenger Rail Agency Read more >

Fact sheet on South Africa’s FATF greylisting

South Africa’s national treasury has released a useful fact sheet on the background to and implications of the country’s recent greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Titled What does FATF greylisting mean for a country?, the six-page document explains the role of the FATF and the mutual evaluations all FATF members are required Read more >