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| Formation | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 26°11′36″S 28°02′10″E / 26.1932645°S 28.0361685°E |
Parent organisation | Transparency International |
| Website | www |
Corruption Watch is a South African anti-corruption non-profit organisation that sets out to monitor and expose acts of corruption that involve public resources and donated charitable resources in South Africa. The various focus areas in which the organisation monitors and exposes corruption include corruption in the education sector, police corruption, leadership appointments (mainly in institutions that support democracy), corruption in the mining applications processes and its effects of communities, corruption in land ownership and tenure, beneficial ownership transparency, and public procurement. Whistle-blowers are an essential source for the organisation as their whole operational mode is built upon reports received from whistle-blowers.
Corruption Watch is the official South African chapter of Transparency International, and is not affiliated with Corruption Watch (UK). [1][2][3]
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The Media Lies and Hides Black Corruption in South Africa
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History
Corruption Watch (SA) was launched in January 2012 at the initiative of trade union federation COSATU (the Congress of South African Trade Unions). The launch, which was held at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, was attended by a range of government officials, including former minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa Jeff Radebe, civil society and business leaders including Jay Naidoo, Mark Haywood, Mary Metcalfe, and Njongonkulu Ndungane, and a range of mainstream media organisations.
In his keynote speech, former COSATU secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi lauded Corruption Watch as a "Critical intervention of COSATU and civil society that will help empower our people and successfully mobilise them." Former justice minister Jeff Radebe also took to the podium, decrying corruption as a "cancer" in South African society in his speech. David Lewis, founding executive director of Corruption Watch, said: "We have formed this organisation to enable citizens to report and confront public and private sector individuals abusing their power and position.”
Corruption Watch is funded by donations from a range of private philanthropic foundations and businesses. It has a small staff of fewer than 30 people and is located in South Point Central, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
As of 2022[update] the Corruption Watch board comprises Karam Singh (executive director), Gugu McLaren-Ushewokunze, Themba Maseko, Marianne Giddy, Bridgitte Mdangayi, Zukiswa Kota, and Karabo Rajuili. [4]
Activities
Corruption Watch operates a reporting system which encourages members of the public to share their experiences of corruption through SMS, fax, e-mail or online through its website, mobi-site, or Facebook page. It is modelled on similar schemes like I paid a Bribe in India. The organisation uses this information from the public in various ways,[5] including research, preparing contributions to legislative or policy development, undertaking strategic litigation on matters that are in the public interest, investigating a selected number of reports (of necessity this number is limited because of resource constraints), developing campaigns, and more.
Corruption Watch collaborates with various South African institutions that are charged with supporting democracy or dealing with corruption, such as the National Prosecuting Authority, the Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit.[6][7]
Current and former representatives of Corruption Watch sit on various national anti-corruption advisory panels, such as the Infrastructure Built Anti-Corruption Forum,[8] the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum,[9] and the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council.[10]
Whistle-blowers are the primary source of information for Corruption Watch but sometimes the organisation conducts its own investigations and reports are created based on those findings.[11] The key reports that Corruption Watch produces are annual reports, the Analysis of Corruption Trends (ACT) report series, sectoral reports - one each year - each focusing on a different sector, the Transparency in Corporate Reporting (TRAC) report series, and various research reports which are all accessible on the organisation's publications page. Corruption Watch also produces public education material, usually related to the campaigns that they are busy with or with current focus areas.
In 2016, Corruption Watch added its voice to calls for the resignation of former President Zuma, stating that he was not doing enough to prevent corruption by public officials.[12]
How work is done
Communication Corruption Watch provides a platform for reporting corruption. Anyone can safely share what they experience and observe and can speak out against corruption. The available communication channels include Corruption Watch's website, a WhatsApp number, social media, e-mail or post. Walk-ins are permitted; however, they are limited to certain days, namely Mondays and Tuesdays as the team mostly works remotely due to Covid-19.
Investigation The organisation investigates selected reports of alleged acts of corruption, in particular those cases that have the most serious impact on society. For instance, these may be cases involving basic health or education services which affect the most disadvantaged South Africans. Corruption Watch hands its findings over to the relevant authorities to take further action, and monitors the progress of each case. The organisation also collaborates with mainstream and community media to make sure that corruption is fully exposed through its investigative work.
Research Corruption Watch gathers and analyses information to identify patterns and hot spots of corruption. The organisation prepares research reports on these hot spots to expose and find solutions to systemic corruption. Using its own communication platforms and the media, Corruption Watch shares its findings with the public, like-minded non-governmental organisations, and public sector bodies, all of which are stakeholders in the fight against corruption.
Mobilisation Corruption Watch builds campaigns that mobilise people to take a stand against corruption. Campaigns involve the public, community groups, and other organisations such as civil society entities.
A list of major projects
Land and Corruption in Africa - this is a decade-long Transparency International research project into the connection between land and corruption in Africa. Phase one of Land and Corruption in Africa was successfully rolled out from 2014 to 2019 and yielded rich country-by-country research on land corruption risks and the impact on citizens across 10 countries in Africa: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Corruption Watch is the South Africa lead for the project and works with various civil society and private and public sector representatives. A second phase of the project (2021-2025) is currently under way and has resulted in a research report and podcast series.
The daily coverage of the erstwhile Zondo commission, and the analysis of the reports and the president's response to the reports.
Contributions to policy and legislation.
Involvement in The People's Tribunal on Economic Crime.
E-books specifically targeted at youth.
Strategic litigation that is in the public interest. Recent main focus areas have included the Sassa/social grants saga[13][14][15][16], Sanral in Cape Town[17][18], the Richard Mdluli matter[19][20], the Eskom delinquency case[21][22], and the Seriti commission report (see below for further developments).
Coverage of the Arms Deal commission (Seriti Commission) was taken further with a challenge to the commission's report, brought by Corruption Watch and Right2Know, and the subsequent successful review and setting aside of the report.
The organisation also promotes public involvement in the political process, especially voting in elections,[23] contributing to legislation development,[24] and monitoring appointments[25] to key crime- and corruption-fighting institutions, including Chapter 9 institutions and law enforcement institutions. [26] and lobbies for the development of regulatory processes for transparency in government spending. [27]
Use of technology
Corruption Watch has two main data tools which focus on corruption in two different areas - police and public procurement. They are the Veza tool and Procurement Watch, respectively.
The Veza tool is an interactive website that equips people with the knowledge and insight to demand better and more accountable policing. Features include a map of corruption hotspots related to policing, information relating to the public’s rights when encountering the police in various situations, and data on all police stations across the country, such as locations, resources, budget and personnel. It also enables users to rate and review police stations based on personal experiences, to compare resources of up to four stations, to commend honest and ethical police officers, and to report incidents of corruption and police misconduct that are immediately geo-located through the tool.
Developed with a view to enhancing transparency in public procurement, Procurement Watch is a data tool that tracks and aggregates certain kinds of national procurement data, otherwise only available in pdfs on the National Treasury’s website, and makes this data easier to search, interpret, and understand. In particular, the tool provides data on deviations (from pre-existing procurement procedures); expansions (of the initial terms of a public contract); and blacklisted suppliers (suppliers that have been barred from doing business with the government). Meant mainly for monitoring and analysis purposes, it is not publicly available, but access is granted via an application. To date, three reports[28][29][30] have been produced from its data.
See also
References
- ^ Robert E. Looney (21 March 2014). Handbook of Emerging Economies. Routledge. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-1-136-26724-6.
- ^ Spector, J Brooks (7 February 2014). "Corruption Watch SA: Erosion of trust, in numbers". Daily Maverick. South Africa.
- ^ Vernon E. Light (21 November 2012). Transforming the Church in Africa: A New Contextually-Relevant Discipleship Model. AuthorHouse. pp. 334–. ISBN 978-1-4772-4179-0.
- ^ "Corruption Watch board members". WWF South Africa. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ Corruption Watch (27 October 2017). "The work that we do". Corruption Watch. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "DPME's new TIP programme to fight corruption in public procurement".
- ^ "IBACF pledge signifies commitment to ridding construction sector of corruption".
- ^ "IBACF pledge signifies commitment to ridding construction sector of corruption".
- ^ "Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum cleaning up chronic corruption".
- ^ "Three from CW on Ramaphosa's nine-member anti-corruption council".
- ^ "Pule abused influence – Business Times". IT in government, Johannesburg, 27 Oct 2013
- ^ "Luminaries, Comrades and Objectors: A growing army of Zuma’s opponents". South African News, 20 April 2016
- ^ "CW in ConCourt again for R10-billion tender".
- ^ "CW in successful R10-billion tender appeal".
- ^ "Corruption Watch wants bid payment to CPS set aside".
- ^ "CW celebrates Supreme Court ruling on CPS repayment to Sassa".
- ^ "Civil society organisations challenge High Court".
- ^ "Success in legal challenge to Sanral secrecy ruling".
- ^ "Joint application to intervene in Mdluli matter".
- ^ "After two decades of evasion, Mdluli bites the dust".
- ^ "CW files delinquency application re: former Eskom board".
- ^ "All correspondence in our Eskom delinquency application".
- ^ "IEC launches national and provincial elections programme".
- ^ "Ways to get involved in Parliament as a member of the public".
- ^ "Fine qualifications alone do not a public protector make".
- ^ "How a quiet, wonky lawyer became South Africa’s corruption-buster". Washington Post. Krista Mahr 13 June
- ^ "Swiss bankers swear they are trying to help Africa get its dirty money back". Quartz africa, Peter Fabricius, 13 June 2016
- ^ "CW releases public procurement analysis report, compiled with new online tool".
- ^ "New CW report on trends in procurement deviations, expansions, and debarment".
- ^ "Latest CW report tracks procurement risk trends".
Further reading
- David Lewis (1 January 2013). Enforcing Competition Rules in South Africa: Thieves at the Dinner Table. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-1-78195-375-4.
External links
This page was last edited on 14 December 2023, at 18:45