HEROES & ZEROES

Eastern Cape school transport deal hits the skids

A controversial scholar transport contract will go ahead in the Eastern Cape at the start of the third school term this month despite red flags of mismanagement of public funds raised by the transport oversight committee in the province’s legislature. For the second time this year, the provincial transport department’s contract with One Future Development Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

What’s the real cost of corruption – part one

By Lorraine Louw It’s easy to point to the losers when it comes to government corruption – that would be the residents and citizens. It is much more difficult to quantify the actual cash lost, with various government departments and entities, as well as political parties and NGOs, turning out their own figures. In October Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

How much corporate fraud is costing SA

Corporate fraud could be causing the country losses of about R150-billion, the audit firm BDO reported in May 2012. It was citing figures from the 2012 Report on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, prepared by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. An analysis of more than 1 300 fraud cases probed worldwide showed that the estimated loss Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Parastatals in the grip of graft

Airports, water boards, harbours and power utilities all play a vital role in South Africa’s economy, but what happens when staff at these state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rig multibillion-rand tenders or dish out jobs to their ill-suited friends and family? In this feature, we examine the dozens of tip-offs we’ve received about this kind of corruption Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Decoding the culture of corruption

By Kavisha Pillay South Africa has always been a melting pot of many cultures. Its ethnic diversity has contributed to the colourful rainbow nation, and has led to tolerance of difference. Culture is part of our daily lives; it contributes to our behaviour patterns, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. But one culture Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Benefit bought or sought is a crime

Dear Corruption Watch All this “name-dropping” for special favours or contracts or landing rights at air force bases really ticks me off. I assume it’s not against any laws, but the results are so clearly corrupt that it should be. Is it possible to criminalise the peddling of influence? — Friendless in high places Corruption Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

A bad smell at Pikitup

The rot runs deep at Pikitup, where the managing director, Amanda Nair, is our zero of the week. Trips overseas, awarding contracts to dodgy companies, and then trying to clear Pikitup’s name in newspaper advertisements all add to the stench of corruption hanging over the company. This is what The Star reported on 7 June Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

School heads in the firing line yet again

Here’s a snapshot of some of the schools incidents* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: principals exposed again, this time for nepotism, keeping teachers in the dark about school finances, and taking money meant for paying a school’s utility bill. Principal Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Political barons demanding tjo-tjo from elderly!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the corruption incidents* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: nepotism and bribery the order of the day at education departments and political barons in a certain township taking advantage of elderly residents desperate for RDP Read more >