Hard-hitting campaign to fight graft lifts off

Cosatu-led action plan against nefarious practices has clout, writes BRENDAN PEACOCK

One of the main barriers to uprooting corruption is that most potential whistleblowers simply don't know who to call. But this could change with the launch of Corruption Watch at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg this week.

An independent organisation brought to life as a result of incessant complaints from union members to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Corruption Watch will act as a secure, evidence-based portal for the public to report corruption.

Corruption Watch's investigative team is already looking into the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the health sector. These investigations were commissioned some three months ago and reports should be released in the next six weeks.

Corruption Watch wants the public and the entities themselves to respond to the reports.

The investigative team will also sort through the submissions and pass on information to relevant authorities, industry bodies and law enforcement agencies.

The personal details of everyone submitting reports will be kept confidential.

The website will name and shame public officials and businesspeople guilty of corrupt acts, as well as create centralised databases from which reports can be drawn and hot spots and particularly corrupt entities pinpointed.

It is hoped that a consolidated information and reporting service can provide accurate statistics and trends to enable Corruption Watch's board to pressure troublesome businesses, industries and state departments into accountability and solutions.

At the launch, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said anti-corruption initiatives would not be enough until every government department, civil society and the private sector were involved. He said institutions needed to be designed to allow people to report and expose corruption, since in its advanced stages corruption led to underdevelopment by hijacking the allocation of resources while undermining service delivery.

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said there was a colossal problem of mismanagement of public money. "Limpopo's problems are not unique to that province. The loss of huge sums of money has a devastating impact on the economy.

''Corruption has become literally a matter of life and death, with people being threatened, intimidated and even murdered for exposing it."

David Lewis, former chairman of the Competition Tribunal and now executive director of Corruption Watch, said the public could approach the organisation directly, via the website, e-mail and short-code SMS messages.

"This is democratising technology," he said.

Corruption Watch's website lists a variety of possible incidents to report, reflecting organised labour's driving influence: bribery, kickbacks and graft, influence peddling and patronage, favouritism and nepotism in the workplace, ghost workers, illegitimate absenteeism, bid-rigging, price-fixing, arbitrage and profiteering, cartels, collusion, tender and procurement irregularities.

Corruption Watch has drawn together volunteers and funders both locally and abroad, with international foundations getting involved. Vavi, Bobby Godsell and Mary Metcalfe are among the high-profile people on the board.

Corruption Watch can be contacted at www.corruptionwatch.org.za, on Facebook (CorruptionWatch) and Twitter (@corruption_sa) or follow #corruptionwatch

Lewis said Corruption Watch's first campaign was to get people to sign a pledge, affirming their refusal to participate in any corruption.

Find Corruption Watch online or send the text "BRIBE" to 45142 to report an incident via SMS, or sign the pledge by typing "PLEDGE" plus your first and last names (SMS costs R1).