The trial of businessman Shabir Shaik has taken centre stage in the national media. Journalist's cling to every-word uttered by legal teams, former secretaries and forensic auditors seemingly waiting for the penny to drop: will the Deputy President be implicated? Public interest in a trial of this nature is a sign of democratic accountability at work. However, this appears to have its narrow limits.

Consider Jean-Paul Perrier the Vice President and CEO of Thales (previously Thomson CSF). Perrier together with Allan Thetard - the former local representative of Thales - appear to have been the key contact points for Shabir Shaik when allegedly soliciting a bribe on behalf of Deputy President Zuma. If the allegations have substance they will be another in a litany of dubious practices followed by French and other multinational corporations in peddling weapons to African governments.

As the Shaik trial was commencing in early October, lawyers for Thales launched an urgent court application in an effort to ensure that it (and its subsidiaries) was removed from the original charge sheet. This was presumably premised on a deal cut by Bulelani Ngcuka before he left the NPA. An affidavit from the Thales representatives authenticating the fax that details the alleged bribe would make it easier for the Prosecution to make charges stick to Shaik.

This is all good and well as far as legal procedure goes - however there is a more worrying concern that the alleged bribe payers, representatives of a massive company in one of the worlds dirtiest businesses cut a deal with the NPA. Elsewhere in the region the prosecutors in Lesotho have systematically prosecuted almost all bribe payers involved in the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme. A number of these multinationals have been found guilty in the High Court and have had to pay hefty fines as a result. However it is not clear if the acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Silas Ramaite is in fact willing to follow the same route. This will be an opportunity for the NPA to uphold its mandate of a fair and equal application of the law - making nonsense of allegations that the trial is merely a witch-hunt directed at South African political heavyweights. It will also contribute to South Africa's role in ensuring that corporate actors do business responsibly in South Africa - and elsewhere on the continent.

One of the provisions in South Africa's tough new corruption law - the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act includes a provision that criminalises the payment of bribes to foreign officials. The challenge of implementing this and a number of other innovative aspects of the act will come be up for discussion at a forthcoming ISS seminar (See Profile).

The ISS has also launched a new comparative handbook comparing the SADC Protocol Against Corruption with similar UN and AU Conventions (See Announcements). This should hopefully assist legal drafters in ensuring that anti-corruption laws are harmonised on the continent. If these laws are implemented - which will require parliamentary and civil society oversight - it will be bad news for those who place personal development before that of Africa's people.

In a bid to combat corruption in the Home Affairs Department the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has dedicated the next three years to undertaking security-clearance scanning of Home Affairs employees. The department has been bedevilled by various scandals, 'from officials taking bribes, to foreigners marrying South African women without their knowledge.' The Stars' Political Correspondent Moshoeshoe Monare reports that the NIA initiative, according to Home Affairs director-general Barry Gilder, has already 'exposed several corrupt officials - including senior managers .' whom he declined to name. Gilder also emphasized that just catching corrupt officials is not enough, as 'syndicates will then corrupt other officials.' What is needed therefore is the development of a 'strategy to analyse the causes and smash the syndicates." Home Affairs has appointed ex-NIA man Stan Musi as Chief Director charged with dealing with corruption and security.

In response to allegations regarding her use of travel vouchers for personal trips, published in Sunday Times on August 29, speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete has produced evidence to refute all the listed allegations. The speaker was able to offer a plausible explanation for every cost she was alleged to have incurred at parliament's expense. The Sunday Times has apologised to the speaker for failing to reflect her side of the story and retracted the allegations against her.
Full Article in Sunday Times (10 October 2004)

Member of Parliament's portfolio committee on provincial and local government, Chief Mweli Nonkonyana, is under fire for allegedly rendering legal advice in return for monthly 'retainer fees' of R10 000 - totalling R237 869 - to the corruption-ridden Qaukeni municipality in the Eastern Cape. According to a report by Mpumelelo Mkhabela the R10 000 retainer fee, paid since 2002 and stopped in January after a Special Investigation (SIU) probe found it irregular, "raises concern about a potential conflict of interest because he worked for a sphere of government which, in principle, he is supposed to hold accountable because he is an MP." Furthermore Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces' committee on local government Sicelo Shiceka noted that in line with the Constitution and MP is ". not supposed to get pay for services he provided to the government." According to a forensic progress report prepared by the SIU Advocate Nonkonyana received payment directly from the Municipality in respect of services rendered - in addition to the retainer fee. Parliaments register of member's interests does not indicate that he declared these payments last year.

'More heads were expected to roll' following the suspension of two top managers, Chief Advocate Peter Maake and human resource manager Mulco Monyana, in Mpumalanga's Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC). A forensic audit, according to a report by Justin Arenstein, allegedly caught the duo 'embezzling millions of rands.' It has been detected that Monyana had been earning a double salary for at least five months, and MEEC chief executive Ernest Khosa has "confirmed that at least one company which received a R1, 5 million loan from the MEEC had the same registered address as Maake's home in Sandton." Auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be asked to extend the probe and encompass other suspected irregularities at the MEEC including the allegation against board member Nora Fakude-Nkuna. A company that she was involved in may have irregularly received a loan.

A R2, 7-million home co-owned by Eastern Cape agriculture minister Max Mamase and his wife, provincial social development minister Neo Moerane-Mamase, is allegedly "being financed by the citrus farmer who landed a controversial R16-million empowered deal from his department." The provincial ministers co-own the house through a company called Quickvest 54 whose account "has received substantial payments deposited from the farmer's accountant." Mail & Guardian reporter Vicki Robinson points out that they had earlier "reported on evidence that Mamase had ridden roughshod over provincial finance regulations and ordered his department to fund the acquisition of a portion of citrus king Norman Benjamin's farm by an empowerment trust." The Joint Anti-Corruption Task Team including investigators from the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority has been deployed into the province to probe the matter.
Full and detailed Article in Mail & Guardian (29 October 2004)

Noby Ngombane, superintendent general in the office of Free State premier Beatrice Marshoff, has been summoned to appear before the provincial public accounts committee (Scopa) on allegations of corruption and mismanagement. A report by Mpikeleni Duma reveals that a KMPG auditor's report has implicated Ngombane in mismanagement and corruption, and recommended "criminal investigations against Ngombane and senior officials of the department."
Full Article in the Sowetan Sunday World (31 October 2004)

The state has charged former Jeffreys Bay mayor Booi Koerat of 'falsely and fraudulently [obtaining] a R52 000 vehicle finance loan from the Kouga council [in order] to settle a R30 600 debt with the Receiver of Revenue.' Koerat reportedly transferred the ownership of his paid up vehicle to his son-in-law who then gave him a quotation for the re-sale of the car back to him (Koerat) two days later. An application for a loan was made and approved and consequently an amount of R52 000 was deposited in his bank account on June 2. According to state evidence R30 700 was paid to the Receiver of Revenue on June 9. Koerat has denied the accusations claiming that he had given the car as a wedding gift to his daughter who then asked him to buy it back due to financial constraints, which he did through the loan.

Following the Free State government's decision to place three of the province's municipalities under administrators due to their poor performance, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the province has resolved to "call 'councillors who were corrupt and arrogant' by name and demand that they resign. The league vowed to exclude these councillors from ANC lists during the forthcoming local government elections. "We wish to express our embarrassment and disillusion with how some of our elected public representatives have acted in executing the mandate and trust placed in them," the ANCYL said.
Full Article in This Day (21 October 2004)

Driven by the perception that authorities, particularly the Commercial Crime Unit of the SAPS and the Scorpions, are not adequately equipped to handle financially complex cases, companies are resorting to probe financial fraud themselves - even furnishing authorities with provisional charge sheets. Marcia Klein writes that the slow pace of bringing high-profile white-collar criminals to trial has set off this development. It is noted that "despite the large number of frauds at several major corporations, and some high-profile arrests, the wheels of justice have turned slowly and in some cases, have not moved at all. Another concern raised is that the perception that only high-profile crimes have been successfully prosecuted over the past few years - including companies such as Beige, Macmed, Leisurenet and Tigon. However Chris Jordan, head of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit says there has not been an increase in public-private partnerships (these are used in about 30% of cases). According to Jordan his unit has a conviction rate of over 94% and has finalised over 1200 cases since inception in 2000.
Full Article in the Sunday Times Business Times (10 October 2004)

Testifying at a ministerial committee of inquiry into the liquidations industry state law adviser Enver Daniels pointed out that even though "there was 'systematic' corruption on a smaller scale that permeated the masters' offices throughout the country", claims of "extensive corruption in the liquidations industry were exaggerated." One of the measures the justice department has taken to eliminate corruption and promote efficiency is, according to Daniels, to "smash" relationships that had developed over the years between liquidators and various masters' offices by completely changing staff in the insolvency division."

The disappearance of R2-million in pension funds from the Gauteng social security directorate responsible for payment of social security grants, (and) disability, child and foster grants has triggered the national and provincial Departments of Social Development to ask the Scorpions to probe several Gauteng Social Development officials. According to a report by Baldwin Ndaba Gauteng Social Development MEC Bob Mabaso confirmed that the Scorpions raided his office saying that the purpose was to root out fraud and corruption.

Speaking in the wake of SABC3's Special Assignment expose of policemen soliciting and extorting bribes from s ex workers and their clients, Gauteng MEC for community and safety Firoz Cachalia "blamed members of the public for helping to perpetuate corruption among police officers". Cachalia told journalists that "[c]orrupt officers are corrupted by members of the community who are always willing to pay bribes." Following the report by the SABC, 11 police officers voluntarily came forward to be investigated. According to a report by Dan Fuphe other serious cases involving police officers include the brutal murder of SAPS Captain Carrim Alli by fellow members of the Service. Alli, who sustained 80% burn wounds from the attack, was allegedly killed because he was investigating police corruption.
Full Article in Sowetan 18 October 2004

An article in Umqol'uphandle 19 (September 2004) highlighted the case of Valencia Mgweba, head of Pretoria Central Prison's case management committee, who was not taken to task despite confessing to the Jali Commission that she had stolen R7 000 from a prisoner's bank account. A report by Gershwin Chuenyane reveals that Mgweba "will be hauled before a disciplinary committee to face charges of fraud, illegal possession of a prisoner's property and gross negligence in executing her duties." This action by the Correctional Services Department comes 11 months after Mgweba's confessed that she and her daughter had stolen R6996- from prisoner Stoffel Mokwena.
Full Article in Sowetan (18 October 2004)

The Social Development Department in the Eastern Cape has initiated a campaign "aimed at evaluating and monitoring the impact of social grants and other poverty alleviation programmes." This has taken the form of establishing a Grant Review Unit (GRU) dedicated to strengthening the monitoring of provisions by the social security system. The initiative is a response to the recent proliferation of social grant scams that cost the department millions of rand each year. Thabiso Thakali reports that "[c]lose to 400 officials have been charged with unlawfully accessing child support, disability, old age and care dependency grants."
Full Article in Citizen (05 October 2004)

Despite high confidence levels, 70% of respondents in a survey conducted among 252 companies drawn from seven European and Scandinavian chambers of commerce members held the view that corruption was "the most significant future concern in South Africa." Concerns about corruption were followed by those on the 'competency of the public service, flexible labour relations, and crime and violence' (60%). These were some of the findings of the 2004 Bilateral Chamber Consultative Committee (BCCC) Investor Survey, which were presented to Parliament's trade and industry committee.
For further details see the Citizen (25 October 2004)

A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) on 'petty' corruption has surprisingly revealed that "[n]early a third of all bribes solicited in South Africa last year were solicited by traffic officials - and every single motorist who was asked for a backhander paid the bribe rather than be fined." Tony Weaver reports that Western Cape MEC for Community Safety Leonard Ramatlakane has urged members of the public to use the new anti-corruption hotline to report government officials who solicit bribes.
Full Article in the Star (07 October 2004)

As highlighted in past editions of Umqol'uphandle the passing of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (12 of 2004) provides South Africans with a new piece of anti-corruption law that codifies acts of bribery and corruption and spells a break with past unwieldy pieces of legislation. However, implementation is now key as various requirements within the act such as the register of tender defaulters and guidelines for reporting corrupt transactions, should by now be near to finalisation.

This working meeting will provide representatives of state anti-corruption agencies, state criminal justice agencies, key government departments, civil society, the private sector and academics with an opportunity to explore some of the possible challenges facing the effective and immediate implementation of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. In this regard it hoped that the participants would, where necessary, assist in developing policy recommendations for consideration by the relevant authorities that have a mandate to implement this law. Both local and international experts will participate on panel discussions during this one and a half day seminar.

The seminar will take place at the Leriba Lodge in Centurion (Gauteng) on 29-30 November. Due to limited seating capacity registration is on a first come first serve basis.

To view a copy of seminar programme and agenda please visit the ISS website:
http://www.issafrica.org
Kindly contact Mzo Maki at the ISS concerning if you still wish to register for this seminar:
(021) 461 7211
Please note that due to limited seating capacity delegates who have not registered in advance will unfortunately not be able to be accomodated at the venue.Copies of presentations - and the seminar recommendations will be made available on the ISS website.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has published a handbook that offers a comparative analysis of three international anti-corruption instruments:

• SADC Protocol against Corruption (2001)
• UN Convention against Corruption (2003)
• AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003)

Policy and decision makers, legal drafters, and parliamentarians have the daunting task of making sense of the multitude of international instruments that come their way and of translating their provisions into effective domestic legislation.

All three anti-corruption instruments overlap each other to a significant extent. This handbook compares the main provisions of the three legal instruments and points out where they overlap or differ. Some recommendations are also offered. The handbook is intended as a tool for those who have the responsibility of ensuring that domestic anti-corruption legislation is updated, made effective and brought into line with internationally agreed upon practice. For non-state actors the handbook should assist to monitor the implementation of all three key anti-corruption instruments into domestic law.

The ISS Organised Crime & Corruption Programme has launched a 'Money Laundering Monitor'. This periodical electronic publication will focus on fourteen eastern and southern African countries including: Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Information on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola will also be provided when available. The first edition covers legislative measures designed to counter money laundering in the aforementioned countries, while subsequent issues will cover general money laundering developments within the East and Southern African region.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is an applied policy non-profit research organisation with a focus on human security issues on the African continent.

This e-briefing is produced by the SA Anti-Corruption Strategies component which is located within the ISS Organised Crime and Corruption programme in Cape Town and funded by the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA) through the Embassy of Denmark.

Editorial Team:
Hennie van Vuuren (Senior Researcher: Anti-Corruption Strategies)
hvanvuuren@issct.org.za - Tel: 021 4617211
Andile Sokomani (ISS Research Assistant)
Pilisa Gaushe (Manager: ISS Corruption Resource Centre)

Visit the SA Online Corruption Information Centre: http://www.issafrica.org/corruption
please email: umqoled@issct.org.za

"Corruption and misadministration are inconsistent with the rule of law and the fundamental values of our Constitution. They undermine the constitutional commitment to human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. They are the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution. If allowed to go unchecked and unpunished they will pose a serious threat to our democratic state". President of the SA Constitutional Court (Judge Arthur Chaskalson), 2000

Umqol'uphandle - SA Corruption Briefing, a monthly free e-briefing, aims to document and inform on instances of corruption in South Africa and the SADC region and assist in raising the debate around effective anti-corruption strategies - with a South African perspective. Published by the ISS - Organised Crime and Corruption Programme, Umqol'uphandle highlights the results of relevant research, initiatives to combat corruption as well as a snapshot of recent corruption related stories, which have appeared in the media. Each edition features the top corruption related story from the SADC region as well as a short profile on a key anti-corruption agency, organisation or instrument.

Umqol'uphandle is inspired by a Xhosa proverb meaning "the moment when something which has been hidden is revealed".