CORRUPTION SNAPSHOTS

Corruption snapshot: 16 – 23 February

Zuma gets serious about graft, DA’s response President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation debate reply that the South African government takes the fight against crime and corruption extremely seriously, adding that the Anti-Corruption Task Team is successfully tackling graft in both the public and private sectors. Zuma said the Anti-Corruption Task Read more >

PRESS RELEASES

Call for people to report corruption

22 January 2012 – Corruption Watch welcomes the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan’s call for the public to report incidents of corruption to the new civil society initiative and official reporting channels.   “The call for people to speak out and report corrupt behaviour is integral to combating corruption,” said executive director, David Lewis.   Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Budget tackles procurement, lease deals head-on

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s plans to fight corruption in state procurement and review all property leases was welcomed by political parties and labour, following the unveiling of South Africa’s R1-trillion budget on Wednesday 22 February 2012. Corruption in procurement and questionable leasing deals are costing government billions annually. Just the two police headquarter leases, for Read more >

DEAR CORRUPTION WATCH

Beware of ‘friends’ bearing gifts

Are you witnessing corruption but don’t know what to do about it? Ask the team of Corruption Watch experts what to do by writing to: letters@businesstimes.co.za and mark your letter ‘Dear Corruption Watch’. Dear Corruption Watch When is a gift a bribe? I am a fairly senior civil servant on a decision-making panel that awards Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Transparency International: Corruption perceptions index, 2011

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to perceived levels of public-sector corruption. It gives scores to 183 countries with 10 being “clean” and 0 being “highly corrupt”. The 2011 Index ranks New Zealand (9.5), Denmark (9.4) and Finland (9.4) top the list, with North Korea and Somalia at the bottom, both with a Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

UN Convention against corruption, 2003

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2003, the Convention against Corruption tackles the scourge of corruption globally and affirms core values such as public accountability and transparency, honesty and respect for the rule of law. The Convention calls for the criminalisation of corruption in both the public and private sectors; sets out Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Statistics SA: Victims of crime survey, 2011

The Victims of Crime Survey 2011, a countrywide survey by Statistics South Africa, focuses on peoples’ perceptions and experiences of crime and their views regarding the police and justice systems. Residents from 29 754 households were polled between January 2010 and December 2010, with the findings providing insights into national and provincial trends. Among the key Read more >

HEROES & ZEROES

Our first zero

Godfrey Thabo Nkhasi, more commonly known as Thabo Nkhasi, was fired on 12 February 2012 for fraudulently using council letterheads to sell municipal land for personal gain. He was the ANC councillor for Ward 28 in Diepkloof, Soweto. In 2008 Nkhasi was paid R15 000 for land he sold to the Together As One Church Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Post shuffling at NPA, SIU frustrating corruption fight

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has denied that Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, head of NPA’s Pretoria Commercial Crimes Unit, has been suspended.   The authority said on Friday 17 February 2012 that it was waiting for her response to the charges before deciding how to proceed.   A statement by NPA executive manager of communications Bulelwa Read more >