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Global corruption snapshots: 18 Dec 2014

Sports governance in the spotlight Beginning in February, global watchdog Transparency International will publish a series of articles under the rubric Corruption and Sport, highlighting the latest research from the world’s top authorities in our efforts to explain what has gone wrong in sport, why it matters and what needs to be done to fix Read more >

Hlongwane sings same tune as other witnesses

By Lee-Ann Alfreds He came, he spoke, he left. That was the sum of Fana Hlongwane’s eagerly-awaited appearance at the Arms Procurement Commission. In one of the shortest appearances on the stand, the middleman accused of pocketing hundreds of millions from the arms deal:   *  first tried to have the media banned from taking Read more >

Getting to the root of foreign bribery

“In order to fight corruption and win, we have to know our enemy,” reads the introduction to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) inaugural report on foreign bribery, released on 2 December. “Until now, there have been very few successful attempts to measure this complex and covert crime. We have been fighting in Read more >

South Africans’ reasons for not reporting corruption

A new report released last week by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reveals that more than two thirds of South African households believe that corruption has increased during the period 2010 to 2013. However, nearly half of them would not report corruption because they believe it's pointless. The report, the 2013/14 Victims of Crime survey, is Read more >

Corruption Watch teams up with Fiesta Black to create waves on International Anti-Corruption Day

Corruption Watch has collaborated with feisty young up and coming artist Fiesta Black, to create a hard-hitting song that expresses the exasperation that many people feel about the high levels of corruption in South Africa. The song “Hayi Basile”, which loosely translated means “They are wicked”, is being released by Corruption Watch on 9 December, Read more >

How will SA fare in the 2014 CPI?

Transparency International’s (TI) 20th Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) will be released on 3 December. This year's index ranks 175 countries or territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The lower the score, which falls between 100 and 0, the more corrupt the country is perceived to be. In 2013 South Africa did not Read more >

Corruption’s role in the grim trade of humans

South Africa is an important cog in the global human trafficking mechanism – the country is a source, destination and transit point for the trade. According to legal research company LexisNexis, which released its human trafficking awareness index earlier this month, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Durban form part of the major routes. The 2014 global Read more >

Arms deal’s Hlongwane to testify today

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Update: Fana Hlongwane did not show at the Seriti Commission yesterday. His lawyers are negotiating with evidence leaders for terms of his appearance – including a ban on cameras in the room. He has managed to remain in the shadows despite his vast wealth and powerful connections. But that is set to Read more >

Chippy Shaik’s testimony full of denials

By Lee-Ann Alfreds Chippy Shaik, the former Department of Defence chief of acquisitions whom arms critics believe was central to the subversion and manipulation of South Africa’s controversial 1999 arms deal, has denied any wrongdoing. Testifying at the Arms Procurement Commission last week, Shaik insisted he had not:   *acted inappropriately to ensure his fraudster Read more >