Tag: government corruption

This riveting study shows how the intersection of technology and politics has shaped South African history since the 1960s. It is impossible to understand South Africa’s energy crisis without knowing this history.

How did a teenage refugee from communist Poland become one of the richest women in South Africa? In what ways did she disrupt the financial services industry? What drove her to become an activist exposing corporate and government corruption? What are her secrets for succeeding in business and life? The founder of multibillion-rand financial services empire Sygnia Limited, Magda Wierzycka is South Africa’s most successful businesswoman.

When you drop a rubber ball on the pavement, no one should really be surprised when the ball bounces back toward your hand. No one would ascribe it to your superpowers, your powers of levitation. You might have to lower your hand slightly to catch it, but it will return much of the way.

It seems conceivable that the state of disaster declared under the Disaster Management Act (DMA) in 2020 might soon end. This would involve the removal of various regulatory restrictions South Africans have been burdened with to cope with the spread of COVID-19.

The Washington Post recently ran an opinion piece by Colbert I. King about immigrants to America and the remittances they send back to family and friends in their home countries. Mr. King was speaking of immigrants to the United States but this holds some important lessons for South Africa as well.

Failure to implement effective compliance and accountability systems is costing the public sector dearly and making supply chains fertile ground for corruption. If the South African government is serious about stopping the rot, strict measures need to be introduced in state departments and safeguards against cyberattacks significantly improved. 

National Treasury has indicated that it will assess the viability of a future wealth tax, as it collects more data in the coming months following the recommendations of the Davis Tax Committee. South African Revenue Service (SARS) will focus on consolidating wealth data for taxpayers through third-party information, Treasury said in its 2021 budget review.

In 1998, the new democratic Constitution put in place was claimed to be the best in the world. It promised a better life for all. According to this new Constitution, it was necessary for parliament to pass a certain amount of legislation in order to complete the constitutional process.

Reports of alleged corruption plaguing the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), one of the vehicles being touted to administer the National Health Insurance (NHI) should not come as a surprise. We note with concern these reports, and stresses to both government and citizens the crucial lesson that must be learned from this scandal.

2020 will be remembered as the year where the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world taking the lives of many. This human tragedy was accompanied by an economic crisis as global economies shut down in an attempt to slow down the spread of the disease.