corruption

Corruption Watch, a civil society organisation that gathers, analyses and shares information on corruption in South Africa, says that people take it for granted that corruption is happening on all levels.

The organisation argues that that blatant demands for bribes in exchange for tenders are commonplace in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

If further states that people are unable to get a tender since government certain officials demand 10 percent, while others increasingly believe that the only way to get work is to bite the bullet and pay someone for it.

Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, has accused some people in society of allegedly targeting her office and interfering with her powers, as protected by the South Africa Constitution.

Addressing about 4 000 students and local community members at the University of Limpopo's Turfloop campus in Mankweng, Madonsela said out of several other Chapter Nine institutions in the country, her office is the only one which people are quick to interfere with, regardless of the constitution which protects it.

Scores of small scale farmers in Jozini, northern KwaZulu-Natal, are at risk of losing their farms.

According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Ayanda Mhlongo, more than 20 farmers have already lost their farms due to alleged corruption and mismanagement by Mjindi - a government appointed management entity.

Mhlongo says the farmers claim to have lease agreements on the land, adding that other farmers also allege government promised them farming implements, withheld by Mjindi, resulting in dying crops.

The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) says that President Jacob Zuma's failure to account properly on the Public Protector's report on his Nkandla homestead shows contempt for Parliament and for the Constitution.

In a press statement, CASAC points out that, "The president should be allowed to complete his answers to the questions that had been tabled for answer on 21 August 2014, and to respond to any supplementary questions in the National Assembly.”

Traditional leaders in Zambia call for collective efforts in the fight against corruption and gender-based violence (GBV).

The traditional leaders vow not to tolerate people intending to acquire pieces of land in their chiefdoms through corrupt practices, with chief Siachitema of Kalomo District describing corruption is a stumbling block in fostering national development.

South Africa has signed an anti-poaching agreement with Mozambique, a major transit route for rhino horn trafficked to Asia.
 
So far this year a total 293 rhino have been killed in South Africa with nearly half of the attacks in the Kruger Park, despite the deployment of troops to protect them.
 
Environmental Affairs minister, Edna Molewa, says the agreement “entails us working together with Mozambique to eradicate rhino poaching… so that Mozambique is not used as a transit country.”
 

The Department of Social Development says the names of bogus grant beneficiaries will be handed over to the fraud unit of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, said this will happen after the department has completed the overhauling of its social grant database.

Dlamini confirmed what Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, assenting the National Budget 2014/15 that more than a million ‘invalid beneficiaries’ have been removed from the grant system.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that Malawi has made progress after a massive government corruption scandal last year, but urged action to bring soaring prices under control.

Malawi adopted an action plan to bust graft in the wake of massive fraud last year that prompted Western donors to freeze US$150 million in aid.

The country is heavily dependent on donors, who bankroll up to 40 percent of its national budget.

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has responded to the Public Protector's report by saying those implicated should consider stepping down.

In a press statement, the SACC points out that, "For the future of the nation and the sustainability of our fledgling democracy, we urge those implicated in the report to consider stepping down."
 
The organisation also says that the report on Nkandla "should be interrogated, not on the timing of its release, but the merits of the contents therein and the implications for the country."

Former President, Thabo Mbeki, has warned that the illicit flow of money out of Africa is at least double what the continent receives from development assistance, according to conservative estimates.

Mbeki, who is heading the High-level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, created by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, blames the large corporations for most of the losses, although government theft does play some role.