Consider this statement: “Bribes can make up to 10% of the wholesale value of ivory in Asia.” And given that according to an investigation by the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), raw ivory currently commands a price of between US$597/kg and $689/kg, on the Asian market – down from a mind-boggling high of $2 100/kg in Read more >
By Erica Emdon and Jacob van GarderenFirst published on Maverick Citizen In 2018, Corruption Watch published its Mining Royalties research report, which looked at equity benefits and compensation flowing from mining, and whether these were reaching mining-affected communities. It concluded that widespread corruption was evident and that, overall, the communities most affected by mining were Read more >
By Kwazi Dlamini Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke has called on leadership at both political and administrative level to make a determined commitment to tackling the scourge of corruption and irregular expenditure in local government. The consequences will be dire otherwise. Delivering her consolidated annual Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) report on local government for the Read more >
Presidency was a no-show for a hearing of the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, that was meant to receive feedback on the progress of high-profile corruption reports overseen by the country’s law enforcement agencies. This despite having been furnished with Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports – among them the recently completed Read more >
By Kwazi Dlamini Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke continues to raise concerns with the way local governments have handled the Covid-19 relief funds. Maluleke released the third special audit report on Covid-19 related initiatives, together with the 2019/20 Municipal Finance Management Act report – which we cover in an upcoming article – and 43 municipalities were put under the microscope for several reasons. They include municipalities which contributed the highest amount for irregular Read more >
President Cyril Ramaphosa did not mislead Parliament in November 2018 when he told it that Bosasa (later Africa Global Operations, AGO) made a payment of R500 000 not to his CR17 campaign for AND president, but to his son Andile for work done for Bosasa. So says the Constitutional Court, which delivered a comprehensive ruling Read more >
Today’s judgment of the Constitutional Court, handed down by Justice Sisi Khampepe, finding former president Jacob Zuma guilty of “egregious” and “aggravated” contempt of court, and ordering him to serve 15 months behind bars, is a victory for the paramount importance of the rule of law. “This is a historically significant moment,” says Karam Singh, Read more >
Former president Jacob Zuma is to present himself to either the Nkandla or the Johannesburg central police stations by this weekend in order to be delivered to a correctional centre where he will start serving a 15-month jail sentence, the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday. This after the court found him guilty of contempt of Read more >
Image: Flickr/gmacfadyen Corruption is an enabler of wildlife, forest and fisheries crime. There are no surprises in that statement, as many will be aware that corruption occurs at every stage of the wildlife trafficking supply chain – and it’s a big reason for the continued prevalence of wildlife trafficking routes and networks. There are also Read more >
