Launch, Cape Town: Who Owns What? ISS Database of Politicians Assets and Interests

Date: 2011-08-05

Venue: , ISS Cape Town Office , , 2nd Floor, Armoury Building , , Buchanan Square , , 160 Sir Lowry Road , , Woodstock, Cape Town

RSVP: Register below OR email Shahnaaz Parker

Organised by the Corruption & Governance Programme,

We take great pleasure in inviting you to the official launch of the updated Who Owns What? ISS database of Politicians Assets and Interests. Originally launched in September 2009, Who Owns What? is an online database that contains approximately 9000 financial disclosure records submitted between 2004 and 2010 by elected members in the National Assembly, National Cabinet, nine provincial legislatures and metropolitan councils. The database has been updated with the latest disclosure forms from these institutions, including the Presidency. It has also been extended to include the latest financial disclosure records of elected local councillors from municipalities across South Africa. Greater public access to the financial interests of councillors through Who Owns What will enhance existing ethics frameworks, promote transparency and accountability and reduce opportunities for conflicts of interest and corruption in local government.

To be truly effective in the fight against corruption in South Africa, evidence increasingly suggests that greater emphasis should be placed on regulating conflicts of interest at the local government level. Many municipalities are beleaguered by a number of governance and administrative challenges which severely undermine their ability to entrench a culture of public ethics and accountability. In the 2009/10 financial year only seven municipalities out of 237 received a clean audit from the Auditor General. Ultimately, these governance failures contribute towards the deterioration of municipality functionality and their ability to deliver on their socio-economic mandates.

For the first time the public can access disclosure forms of thousands of locally and nationally elected politicians through a searchable database. This is the first comprehensive database of its kind on the African continent and one of the few examples of such databases internationally. It provides a useful tool for Researchers, Civil Society, the Media and ultimately promotes not only oversight of but also integrity in public life in South Africa. The records were collected with the support of the various public institutions and reflect their commitment to open, accountable governance as envisaged in the Constitution. Click here to view the Who owns what Database
Keynote Speaker
Advocate Mamiki Thabitha Shai, Deputy Public Protector

Click here to download a map to the ISS Cape Town Office

Please note that discussions occur under the ISS Rules, which means no attribution without specific permission.

This seminar is made possible by funding from the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA)