Test results have finally confirmed that pesticides – including known carcinogens – poisoned rivers, soil and beaches in Durban. Provincial authorities say they have opened a criminal case against agro-chemical giant UPL but for residents who were exposed to toxic fumes and contaminated water, there is a growing fear of the unknown long-term health effects.
Comment: AmaBhungane has argued in the Pretoria high court that donations to internal political party campaigns – which can lead ultimately to the candidate’s elevation to high office – are constitutionally required to be disclosed.
Yet another court case has laid bare allegations the former chief executive of the Public Investment Corporation secretly signed away state pensioners’ claims worth hundreds of millions of rands to help his alleged friend, media mogul Iqbal Survé.
How did a warehouse storing tons of toxic and flammable chemicals, some banned elsewhere, quietly move in next door to a school, a Makro superstore and a wetland without anyone knowing?
We will make our case for transparency once again in the high court.
The R225-billion powerships deal may finally be sunk by the environment department’s refusal to authorise the Turkish-led consortium’s projects. It failed to deliver adequate environmental reports or listen to warnings from specialists, the department said.
The Turkish company that won a controversial bid to plug the hole in Eskom’s electricity supply has been dogged by corruption accusations abroad.
A City of Ekurhuleni aid programme to benefit the poor was generously expanded – but the beneficiaries were often commercial companies, raising questions about misplaced priorities and political favours.
Some days Thulani Majola gave generously to the ANC; some days he gave to EFF leader Julius Malema. This even-handedness might help explain the hoard of government contracts Majola accumulated over the years. The second in our two-part series looks at how Majola’s company accumulated lucrative tenders in Ekurhuleni.
Thoughts from amaBhungane’s advocacy coordinator.
A jilted firm is asking the high court to overturn government’s appointment of preferred bidders for the supply of emergency power, claiming the tender process was “grossly and blatantly flawed, corrupt and procedurally unfair”. The lion’s share went to the Karpowership consortium, which has denied involvement in any impropriety.
Astonishing sums of public money were poured into a cooking-pot factory project which quickly sank under the weight of mismanagement. Amid the acrimonious fallout, the IDC – made to look foolish – has blacklisted a fellow development funder while court cases are mounting.
The rail agency has been hollowed out by years of corruption and maladministration. Despite pronouncements on stabilising the “broken” entity the situation only keeps getting worse. Why? A former Prasa legal manager weighs in with a blistering exit letter which puts the blame right at the top.
The spy agency has confirmed it has halted “bulk surveillance” – the mass interception of electronic communication – after the Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that there was no law authorising it.
Miss out on amaB’s investigation into Nedbank and state capture? Download the easy-on-the-eye ebook here.
The tax collector can breathe a sigh of relief after the court ordered a last-minute halt to the release of funds linked to state capture.
#GuptaLeaks info implicates ANC secretary-general in a computer deal that ran parallel to the Vrede dairy scam — and suggests the then-national agriculture minister also played a role.