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Corruption Watch exposé leads to suspensions

By Zaheer Cassim Three officials at Dr JS Moroka municipality near Witbank in Mpumalanga have been suspended after a Corruption Watch investigation exposed some very dodgy spending by procurement clerks employed by the municipality. Corruption Watch was alerted to the case when the accounting officer at a private company, who had been involved in supplying Read more >

Problems in North West

Municipalities in North West were hailed by the province’s leadership towards the end of 2012 for meeting auditor-general (AG) Terence Nombembe’s deadline for submitting their financial statements for that year – but what was not revealed at the time was that the achievement came with a R29-million bill for taxpayers. On Wednesday, Mail & Guardian Read more >

Crooks bribe cops – more of your stories!

Here’s a snapshot of some of the corruption reports* we’ve received from the public recently, so you can get a feel for the kind of trends we're picking up: police officers from an organised crime unit taking bribes from criminals to avoid arrests, home affairs security guards wanting “payment” from foreign nationals, and a Johannesburg Read more >

Joburg acts tough on ‘corrupt’ employees

The City of Johannesburg has confirmed the arrest of five of its employees from the Building Control Department by the Hawks on 31 October 2012. This was for their alleged involvement in a R10-million scam to defraud council funds for the submission of building plans over a 12-month period. This also follows the recent five Read more >

Corruption in driving schools: take a stand

Mummy Mangoale approached Boiteko Driving Institute in Pretoria in August 2011, asking about the cost of driving lessons. She met Calvin Theledi, who told her that it would cost her R4 500 to get a Code 8 driving licence. Eager to get started with her lessons, Mangoale arranged to pay the fee in two separate instalments Read more >

Rethinking procurement to fight corruption

To combat corruption, the government and private industry have to change their models of supply change management, according to procurement experts. They were in Johannesburg on 4 October to inaugurate the government’s recognition of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). Procurement, the buying of a good or service, is a contentious issue in Read more >

Corruption Watch and Wits talk ‘no more tjo-tjo’

By Zaheer Cassim Wits law students and Corruption Watch teamed up yesterday to talk about bribery on the roads as part of the organisation’s ongoing No more tjo-tjo campaign. The event, hosted by the university, saw about 50 members of the Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ) group addressing Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) Read more >

Metro cops on the spot again

Every day, street traders in Johannesburg are expected to pay bribes to the police: if they don’t pay up, their stock is confiscated and they are ticketed. After they pay the fines, the hawkers find that not all of their stock is returned; most of it is still missing. Last week, on Behind the Headlines Read more >

Bribery: it just doesn’t pay

By Zaheer Cassim For some South Africans paying a bribe is the efficient way to get things done. It’s a basic transaction whereby someone provides a service and, in return, is compensated. But this is no lawful contract and many people are learning the hard way that dealing with corrupt individuals through bribery is not Read more >