DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

New graft-busting unit unlikely to halt state scams

Dear Corruption Watch I see the president signed the Public Administration Management Act in December, establishing yet another anti-corruption agency. What contribution is this intended to make to combating corruption? Does this not duplicate existing anti-corruption agencies? Unconvinced Dear Unconvinced, The Public Administration Management Act created a gamut of new institutions that are intended to Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Mixed reaction to PAM Act – part two

In part one of our series we introduced a keenly anticipated piece of legislation – the Public Administration Management (PAM) Act. In part two we examine some of the reactions to the Act, and in the third and final part we will discuss the proposed integrity unit. In December 2014 President Jacob Zuma signed the Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Corrupt Bitou officials under scrutiny

Our first hero for the year is Bitou Municipality in the Western Cape, which has embarked on an operation to switch off corrupt officials who are stealing electricity. The auditor-general’s latest annual report highlighted the fact that the municipality experienced a 17% loss in electricity income – more than R9-million – during the previous financial Read more >

CORRUPTION SNAPSHOTS

Global corruption snapshots: 30 Jan 2015

Bombardier Transportation accused of corruption in South Korea Bombardier Transportation was investigated in South Korea over corruption allegations but never charged, CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada has learned. A task force led by Korean prosecutors alleges that Bombardier, based in Quebec, offered gifts and trips to Canada for civil servants and politicians who decided to choose Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Another senior SIU official quits

By Candice Bailey As the nation digests the sudden resignation of the head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Vas Soni, this week, the investigator at the centre of the Nkandla probe is also leaving the anti-corruption agency. The unit programme manager, Mary-Anne Whittles, who co-ordinated the investigation of the security upgrades at President Jacob Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

New law to tighten public administration – part one

Our new three-part series takes a closer look at the newly enacted Public Administration Management Act. Part one introduces the legislation. In part two, read about reactions to the Act and in part three, we take a closer look at the state’s plans for its proposed integrity unit. In December President Jacob Zuma signed the Public Administration Management Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

New forum to advise, protect whistleblowers

The fight against corruption stepped up a notch yesterday in Johannesburg, with the official launch of the Anti-Intimidation and Ethical Practices Forum (AEPF). This body has been established to help professionals in certain fields who are being intimidated for exposing corruption in the workplace.  AEPF’s eight founding organisations are the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

WC ombud to bridge gap between police and the public

By Valencia Talane There’s a new sheriff in town in the Western Cape, and it is not the criminals who should be worried, but slacking, incompetent police officers. Six years after he was removed from his position as the country’s chief of state prosecutors, Vusi Pikoli is settling into his new role as the province’s Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Corruption helps fuel illegal gold trade

This article, first published on Bloomberg and written by journalist Kevin Crowley, investigates the illegal mining trade which is prevalent in South Africa. Corruption, and the poverty that's often a driver of corruption, plays a significant role in the continuation of this illicit industrial activity, and it involves the miners themselves, employees of active mines, metal Read more >