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African countries are addressing public procurement weaknesses

Public procurement – the process by which the government contracts for the provision of goods, services, and infrastructure – presents one of the biggest corruption risks in modern society. Opportunistic officials find creative ways to include bribery, fraud, collusion, nepotism, bid-rigging, and other corrupt practices as part of the deal, which becomes a lucrative enterprise Read more >

South Africa’s removal from FATF grey list draws nearer

In February this year we reported that South Africa had addressed all but two of the action items highlighted as regulatory weaknesses by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), after a mutual evaluation review in 2021. This resulted in the country’s unwelcome debut on the FATF grey list in February 2023. The FATF is the Read more >

Beneficial ownership register up and running in SA

Towards the end of February, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) met with the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry, and Competition to brief members on the status of its implementation of the Zondo commission recommendations pertaining to it, as well as progress on its actions to lift South Africa’s grey-listing. The CIPC’s role in Read more >

2024 Procurement Watch report unpacks current procurement risk trends

Corruption Watch (CW), partnering again with procurement law expert Prof Geo Quinot of Stellenbosch University, today released the 2024 Procurement Watch Report on Procurement Risk Trends. This is the fourth in CW’s series on procurement risk trends, and presents an analysis of selected forms of procurement data between 2016 and 2024. Previous reports were published in Read more >

SIU shuts down another dubious PPE contract

Another victory for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), handed down by its Special Tribunal. It involves a R257-million contract for personal protective equipment (PPE) entered into by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) and a company called Nkhane Projects and Supply during the Covid-19 pandemic that rocked the country four years ago. The tribunal has Read more >

Tshwane introduces new e-commerce portal, aims to reduce corruption

Public procurement is one of the most corruption-prone activities that governments undertake. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime cites several reasons for this situation, including the volume of transactions, the multitude of stakeholders, and the close interaction between public officials and businesses. Corruption Watch (CW) has built up an extensive body of work around Read more >