Seriti Commission not fair or consistent

By Lee-Ann Alfreds The withdrawal of arms deal critics Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren from the Arms Procurement Commission was not surprising in light of the unfair treatment meted out to detractors who have participated in proceedings. This was the unanimous verdict of civil society organisations and arms deal and constitutional experts Read more >

Tlakula gives up the fight

It has taken a while, but embattled Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Pansy Tlakula has resigned. “Her resignation opens the way for the Commission to begin closing a particularly challenging and tumultuous period in the Electoral Commission’s history and to move forward as an institution,” said the IEC in a statement. In March this year Read more >

Spotlight on the public service in September

September is Public Service Month in South Africa. This year’s month-long event takes place under the theme Reinventing the way Public Servants Work: Batho Pele "Putting People First". During this period South Africans are asked to reflect on the public service and its ability to deliver quality services that meet their expectations in the spirit Read more >

Commission not going to fulfil its mandate?

By Lee-Ann Alfreds THE Arms Procurement Commission is a “waste of taxpayers’ money”. Speaking on Friday 29 August, a day after he and fellow critics Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren announced they were withdrawing from the inquiry, Andrew Feinstein said while they had “really wanted this commission to work”, they had concluded they could Read more >

It is time to “Unmask the Corrupt” in South Africa

South Africa must make it much harder for the corrupt to hide their ill-gotten gains behind secret companies if the country wants to combat criminal activity in its financial system, Corruption Watch said today as it launched the "Unmask the Corrupt" campaign in South Africa. Transparency International national chapters in Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Read more >

Stepping in where NPA fears to tread

Dear Corruption Watch The National Prosecuting Authority does not appear to have the appetite to prosecute cases involving corruption on the part of state officials, or committed by those in the private sector who are politically connected. Is it possible for a private citizen like me, or a civil society organisation like Corruption Watch, to Read more >

Arms deal critics drop commission

Our heroes this week are Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and their clients – arms deal critics Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren – who have withdrawn from the Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the R70-billion arms deal after doing their best to support it. The decision was not taken lightly, said LHR Read more >

Unknowingly a house owner – for 16 years

Part one of our housing series examined the challenges faced by the Department of Human Settlements, and in part two we read of various strategies aimed at improving operations in the department. Part three features a Corruption Watch reporter who has become the victim of human settlements' bungling. When John Twala* heeded a call from Read more >

LHR and clients pull out of Seriti Commission

Source: Lawyers for Human Rights Media statement: Withdrawal from the Arms Procurement Commission The arms deal was a uniquely damaging moment in our young democratic history. It was concluded after decades of uncontrolled spending on foreign and internal wars by the apartheid regime. From the signing of the contracts in 1999 up to R70-billion of Read more >