CW welcomes the SIU’s bold Usaasa move

Corruption Watch welcomes the decision by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to approach the Pretoria High Court to set aside the appointment of Zami Nkosi, CEO of the parastatal Universal Service Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa). According to the Sunday Independent, the SIU is also asking the court to force the Usaasa board to Read more >

Working with young minds for change

By Janine Erasmus Final year law student Zola Valashiya is a man with a vision – and that is to get South Africans not just talking to, but communicating with each other. He feels that this is one of the tools that will help us to tackle a particularly prevalent scourge in our society – Read more >

To serve the public with dignity and integrity

By Valencia Talane The public service component of any society is really the backbone on which it relies for its survival. South Africans are served by over three-million public officials across the three levels of government and in its various entities and agencies. The high standard of service required from each of these individuals is Read more >

Banks keep watch for ill-gotten gains

Dear Corruption Watch, We read a lot about the families of foreign dictators buying expensive properties in South Africa. No doubt many wealthy South Africans similarly have large personal bank accounts in other countries. How do we know that these inward and outward flows are not the proceeds of corruption? Neighbour Dear Neighbour, You are Read more >

The proverbial new broom?

Our hero this week is the Gauteng Department of Education, which seems to have gained a new lease on life under recently appointed premier David Makhura. In May he announced his 10-member cabinet, including former education spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi, who's now education MEC. Lesufi has wasted no time in coming to the defence of pupils Read more >

Refugees: at the mercy of corruption

By Valencia Talane It’s hard to stand up to a corrupt system that works against you. It is especially challenging when you are in a foreign country and in desperate need of its services. Kazadi Mutombo* (25), from the Democratic Republic of Congo, knows all too well what it feels like to have to fight Read more >

Nowhere to hide – unmasking the corrupt

In South Africa, as in numerous other countries, corruption is a regrettable part of our everyday life, and it comes in various forms. But while anti-corruption laws exist, their implementation is not robust, and perpetrators are seldom punished. Those who engage in corruption are easily able to hide their ill-gotten gains by channelling the proceeds Read more >

Governments, business “Unmask the Corrupt”

Corruption Watch will participate in a global campaign, “Unmask the Corrupt", launched on 19 June by Transparency International (TI). The campaign’s overarching objective is to end the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of corruption. The specific campaign demands will make it easier to trace the proceeds of corruption and to prevent the perpetrators from enjoying the Read more >

June Sona light on accountability, anti-corruption

By Valencia Talane The first sign of work done on the ground by the chief procurement officer (CPO) was an announcement by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) of the centralised procurement by the office of furniture for Eastern Cape schools. “We have begun piloting this new approach with the Read more >