Mining tops Corruption Watch’s list on graft

Laying bare the depth of graft and malfeasance in South Africa, Corruption Watch yesterday released its 12th annual report pointing to mining (at 38%) as an area topping the list of complaints received last year.

The independent watchdog said the second highest number of complaints from the public were in the policing sector (at 23%), followed by business (16%), basic education (12%) and stateowned entities (11%).

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Corruption Watch said the report, Changing the Landscape, bore “stark witness to the path SA finds itself after 30 years of democracy, and the reality of the multiple crises that threaten the fulfilment of the state’s electoral and constitutional mandate”.

It said poor leadership and lack of accountability has eroded public trust and confidence in the state’s capacity to deliver on the promise of an equal and just society.

“Along with these challenges, the sheer scale of corruption and mismanagement, has contributed to rising levels of poverty, inequality, unemployment, crime, deteriorating infrastructure, utilities and services,” said the report.

At the centre of the fight

Board chair Themba Maseko said Corruption Watch remained “at the centre of the fight against corruption determined to hold those in power accountable”.

A whistle-blower and former Government Communication and Information System CEO who testified before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture about wrong-doing at the height of the Guptagate Maseko became one of the earliest casualties of the state capture project under former president Jacob Zuma’s administration.

Echoing Maseko, CW executive director Karam Singh, said there was a need to preserve democracy, cautioning: “We cannot afford to lose any more ground in the fight against corruption and the realisation of human rights.

“It is within our power to change the current landscape, if we all work together starting with a strong turnout at the polls in May.”

The Corruption Watch report said communities affected by mining operations had “several common challenges that if not addressed urgently and adequately will have a lasting negative impact on their potential livelihoods”.

Communities, said the report, suffered from “poor or no consultation by mining companies and local authorities”, to “broken promises of upliftment and weak governance structures resulting in lack of protection of their basic rights”.

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On types of corruption identified, Corruption Watch found maladministration as an area of major concern, accounting for 34%, followed by fraud (21%), employment irregularities (16%), bribery or extortion (15%), and procurement irregularities (13%).

Out of five municipalities with the highest number of corruption reports, Joburg, Tshwane and Cape Town collectively accounted for 71% of incidents.

On provinces considered to be “hotspots for monitoring corruption”, Gauteng recoded the highest in corruption complaints at 37%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19%), Free State (10%) and the Western Cape (9%).

“Corruption thrives when citizens enable the ruling elite to use their positions of authority to manufacture a reality that society should live by. “A passive citizenry that does not demand accountability and fails to expose corruption, only encourages brazenness,” the Corruption Watch report warned.

It found government’s “tardy response and pace in addressing citizen concerns” fuelled “the perception that no one cares”.