Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Basic Education release documents on corruption cases since 2007

In honour of upcoming International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December), SAHA has made access to information requests to government departments about how corruption is handled, how often it happens, and how officials work to prevent it.

To date, only the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Basic Education have responded.

The Department of Trade and Industry released copies of their policies on preventing corruption and conflicts of interest [1], as well as a chart of incidents investigated since 2007 [2]. The policies discuss conflicts of interest, fraud prevention, and ethical standards. Of the 11 corruption cases investigated since 2007, 8 were discovered through tips from the National Anti-Corruption Hotline.

The Department of Basic Education did not release any documents. Instead, they sent assurances that policies, procedures and internal controls were in place to address corruption and conflicts of interest [3]. Curiously, not a single incident of corruption or conflict of interest has been investigated by the Department of Basic Education in the past 5 years. When SAHA asked for documents related to potential cases of corruption or conflicts of interest at that department since 2007, the Department simply said: "None." [4]

If you are worried about corruption in your community and want more information, SAHA may be able to help. Learn more about how to make information requests by reviewing the Freedom of Information Programme resources or contacting the Freedom of Information Programme.

[1] Released material available in SAHA's Freedom of Information Programme Collection at: A17.1.2: DTI policy documents on corruption and conflict of interest

[2] Released material available in SAHA's Freedom of Information Programme Collection at: A17.1.1 :: DTI corruption cases from 2007-2012

[3] [4] Released material available in SAHA's Freedom of Information Programme Collection at: A17.2.1 :: Response to Access to Information Requests about corruption and conflicts of interest at the Department of Basic Education