OPINIONS

Strong start to Nigeria’s first beneficial ownership register

First published on OpenOwnership At the end of last year Nigeria published Africa’s first beneficial ownership register, and the first globally to focus on the lucrative oil, gas and mining sectors. The OpenOwnership team has been assessing the register’s performance and analysing the quality of the data that’s been disclosed. The register itself is a Read more >

OPINIONS

Civil society must demand an end to political self-enrichment

By Judith February and Karam SinghFirst published on Daily Maverick When it seems that virtually every tender awarded during the time of a health emergency is tainted with corruption, it says something about the soul of the country. The president’s own spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said she and her husband made an “error of judgement” when Read more >

OPINIONS

Whistleblowers are the heart of Corruption Watch’s fight

By Melusi NcalaFirst published on News24 Corruption is my beat. I say this reservedly for my role and duty, though seemingly small, is a huge responsibility to me. Why? I am part of a country that is still grappling with vast inequality and indigence. But South Africans are people who live in hope and that, Read more >

OPINIONS

We need a transparent and accountable law enforcement system

By Valencia TalaneFirst published on News24 The events of last week, in particular Wednesday 30 September’s high-profile arrests relating to the irregular Free State asbestos contract of 2014, indicate a step in the right direction in the fight against corruption. The Zondo commission has explored the contract extensively over the past few weeks, and some Read more >

OPINIONS

Are Zuma’s good old “andizi” days over?

By Valencia Talane As I write this article, this was meant to be the first day of the return of former president Jacob Zuma before the commission of inquiry into state capture. The much-anticipated corruption trial he faces in the Pietermaritzburg High Court is a very important affair, says his attorney Eric Mabuza, who recently Read more >

OPINIONS

No panacea for corruption – so do we need to keep spelling it out?

By Matthew StephensonFirst published on Global Anticorrutpion blog I’m taking another one of my periodic breaks from semi-serious commentary to make a mostly frivolous, slightly snarky point about the way we talk and write about corruption. Here’s my plea for today: Every sensible person would presumably agree that there’s no panacea (that is, no single Read more >

LOCKDOWN LIFE

All support to CW for all you’ve done for South Africa

Merle Payne Hi, I am answering the questionnaire about my Covid-19 experience. I live on my brother’s farm in Limpopo. I run a small embroidery workshop from the farm in my house. When the first lockdown was implemented, I told two of the three ladies at the workshop to go home to organise their lives Read more >

OPINIONS

Transparent tenders will cut Covid-related corruption

By Caroline James and Karam Jeet SinghFirst published on Maverick Citizen President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 23 July 2020 a variety of measures to deal with Covid-related corruption. Mere days later the media exposed that Madzikane II Thandisizwe Diko – the husband of presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko – had received contracts worth R125-million for Covid-19 Read more >

OPINIONS

Learn from civil society rather than belittling or ignoring it

By Wayne DuvenageFirst published on News24 The message that civil society hears when it points out problems or issues is: how dare it be so bold as to question the rights and decisions of those in authority when spending public funds in the way they do. The people should shut up, sit down and stop complaining. Read more >