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Make your voice heard by taking our TopCops survey

Take our police survey. Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) have established a joint public awareness campaign that focuses on the process resulting in the critical appointments of the South African Police Service (SAPS) national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks). We believe that both Read more >

MPs have constitutional duty to hold executive to account

The long-awaited vote of no confidence – the eighth such effort – against President Jacob Zuma takes place later today under a secret ballot. This follows a Constitutional Court ruling in June that set aside Speaker Baleka Mbete’s initial reasons for not agreeing to a secret ballot. Mbete said her decision was taken with the Read more >

Mbete does the right thing, putting SA’s interests first

First published on Business Day Speaker Baleka Mbete has done exactly the right thing by allowing a secret ballot in the parliamentary vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma. Her reasoning clearly echoes the reasoning set out by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. It weighs and takes into account both sides of the argument: the Read more >

CW, ISS campaign for accountable and honest police leaders

In July 2017, Corruption Watch and the Institute for Security Studies launched a joint public awareness campaign that focuses on the appointments of the SAPS national commissioner and the head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks). The organisations believe that both appointments require a transparent selection process against clear merit-based criteria as Read more >

How corruption is fraying SA’s social, economic fabric

By Sean Gossel First published on The Conversation  South Africans are not happy. According to the recent Bloomberg’s Misery Index, South Africa is the second-most miserable country on earth. Venezuela tops the list of emerging countries. This isn’t too surprising considering that the country is embroiled in multifaceted crises. It also has among the highest Read more >

MFMA: improvements, but municipalities still have work

The auditor-general’s (AG) latest report on the financial performance of municipalities, released last week, shows a marginal improvement for 2015/16, but overall the local government had failed to maintain the promising five-year momentum – gained in the years 2010/11 to 2014/15 – that he reported on last year. At a briefing on 21 June, AG Read more >

ConCourt rules on Zuma no-confidence secret ballot

The Constitutional Court ruled today on the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) application for a secret ballot in the motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma. The court was asked to order that National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete must make all arrangements to ensure that the vote of no confidence takes place by secret ballot. The Read more >

Don’t let corruption in SA become normalised

It is not true that corruption has no victims, writes William Gumede, associate professor at Wits University’s School of Governance. Rather, it causes “disastrously inefficient economic, social and political outcomes” – among others, it diverts public resources from critical development projects to less productive, less job creation and less growth spurring ones, discourages long-term investment, Read more >

Why SA’s courts cannot rein in a delinquent government

By Cathleen Powell First published on The Conversation Africa South Africans sighed with relief when the Constitutional Court recently handed down a judgment in the country’s social grant saga, averting a catastrophic constitutional crisis. About 17-million social grant beneficiaries would not be left without support. Unfortunately, while the court saved the country from one constitutional Read more >