War and Organised Crime: Opinion
Organised crime thrives in paradise
Gail WannenburgBusiness Day, 11 July 2003
Known to divers as a paradise of coral reefs and pristine white shores, the southern Mozambique resort camps of Ponto D'Ouro and Ponto Malongane are home to about 3000 people eking out their existence in a drought-stricken environment.
Where to now for alleged coup plotters?
Gail WannenburgPretoria News, 14 June 2004
Judge Bernard Ngoepe has dismissed a case brought by a group of alleged mercenaries to compel the South African government to request their extradition from Zimbabwe to stand trial in South Africa under the Foreign Military Assistance Act. The 70 men were arrested in Zimbabwe after the SA government alerted authorities in Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea that they were part of a group captured in Equatorial Guinea that have confessed to plans to launch a coup d'etat against the government of that country.
Organised crime and corruption in Africa
Gail WannenburgGlobal levels of corruption have not improved in the last decade (Global Competitiveness Report 2003). Performance of both developing and richer countries are mixed. Traditional corruption (abuse of public office)-lower on average in OECD countries but undue influence is a major problem for some OECD countries. Southern OECD countries have higher levels of corruption than some African countries e.g. Botswana. Many OECD countries (e.g. USA) score worse on corporate governance than certain African countries e.g. South Africa. OECD based multi-nationals apply different corporate standards at home and in developing countries.
Catching the middlemen fuelling African conflicts
Gail WannenburgOrganised criminal networks in Africa thrive on the role played by middlemen, who together with political and military elites in regimes under United Nations embargo or with insurgents, have been largely responsible for supporting both the legal and illegal trade of commodities regarded as fuelling African conflicts such as coltan, diamonds and timber as well as facilitating the barter of goods for arms.
War and Organised Crime - Opinion editorials
Herewith the listing of news and media items written by researchers involved in SAIIA's War and Organised Crime project. Articles are not necessarily confined to the project's area of focus.Op-Eds - April 2005
Organised crime in southern Africa: problems and solutions by Gail Wannenberg
Organised crime and its implications for South Africa by Gail Wannenburg
