DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

No fast fix for questionable collecting tactics

Dear Corruption Watch, my neighbours complain that their municipal water and electricity bills are incorrect. When they try to challenge their bills, our municipality says that they must first pay the disputed bill, and then argue about it. Surely this can't be right? Yours sincerely Concerned Neighbour Dear Concerned Neighbour The law regarding the powers Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Private sector can bring company crooks to justice

Dear Corruption Watch: You wrote about offshore Swiss bank accounts for people like Fana Hlongwana, whose name has been linked to the arms deal. Since South Africa still has exchange controls limiting the amount of money an individual can take offshore, have these people necessarily contravened these laws? And if they used money-laundering techniques to Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Swiss accounts not beyond law’s reach

Dear Corruption Watch, I've been reading about the South Africans with Swiss bank accounts. Now that many of them have been named, what happens next? Do the police, or people in the South African Revenue Service or other anti-corruption teams investigate them? Zurich Wannabe Dear Zurich Wannabe, We can think of several agencies or institutions Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Poser of political fundraising in SA

Dear Corruption Watch, I am still burning about the fact that people paid R3-million to sit at President Jacob Zuma's table at the ANC's 103rd anniversary celebrations. Isn't this brazen corruption? Meal Ticket Dear Meal Ticket There are no legal impediments to a fundraising event such as the one held by the ANC in Cape Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

More protection needed for whistleblowers

The Open Democracy Advice Centre (Odac) is proud to announce the launch of its latest piece of extensive research on the lived experience of South African whistleblowers, titled Heroes Under Fire. Whistleblowers in South Africa are under threat as never before. A deepening culture of impunity and lack of accountability is making it harder for them Read more >

RAISING AWARENESS

Why we focus on public resources

​Dear Corruption Watch, I've reported corruption on your website – things going on in the body corporate where I live, and evidence to show improper payments billed to me for construction work – but you've replied that your focus is on the misuse of public resources or power. Why such a narrow focus? Private Matter Dear Private Matter, Read more >

OPINIONS

School governing bodies have vital role to play

Opinion: Frances Eberhard Zonnebloem Boys is a primary school in District 6 in Cape Town. In March, along with all South African public schools, it will hold elections to decide who will represent its parents, teachers and learners on the school governing body (SGB). Much is at stake in these elections: SGBs have the potential Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Protection for media sources

Dear Corruption Watch, I live in an area where corruption is rife. The police are indifferent at best, and often complicit. There seems to be nowhere else to go but the newspapers, so I wonder: what would happen to me – would I be named, or need to testify – if a newspaper report led Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Cleanup of govt procurement slow but steady

Dear Corruption Watch, I run a small business involved in the construction industry. It’s very difficult to find out about government tenders, but more difficult still to follow the process through to the end. My understanding was the government was meant to review its procurement practices to make it easier for businesses like mine to Read more >