About Us
History of IPOC Africa
In July 2003, the first incarnation of IPOC - the Southern African Online Corruption Information Centre, was launched. Our vision was to develop an online resource centre that would ultimately become one of the primary online reference points for those in Southern Africa interested in combating corruption .The initiative was informed by a meeting of Southern African civil society organisations in August 2002 , organised by Southern African Human Rights Initiative Trust and Transparency Zimbabwe, which identified the need for a regional portal on corruption.
In 2004, having received feedback from anti-corruption practitioners, the team decided to revamp the site and changed the name to the Information Portal on Corruption (IPOC). The update was aimed at attracting repeat visitors such as anti-corruption practitioners and general users. However, it also reflected a deeper concern.he increasing prominence of anti-corruption initiatives on the global agenda was effectively making its way back onto the national agendas of African countries. It therefore became imperative that we provide an open and accessible Internet space for stakeholders to engage and reflect on current events. In practice this meant providing existing information, generating new research and knowledge, as well as contesting perspectives on relevant issues.
On the technical side, we also became aware of the value of simplifying the search functions and developing the database on the website to enhance user access to information. The monthly newsletter, Umqol’uphandle, which features topical South African corruption stories, was also added in 2004 to provide greater depth and critical perspectives.
Since then, IPOC has evolved to accommodate the changing needs of its users, the expanding geographical focus of the Institute’s work and new project based research within the Corruption and Governance Programme. Today, IPOC’s design reflects the latest technological advances in as content-management based system, and as a user-friendly, accessible and attractive portal which attracts frequent visitors.
Programme & staff
IPOC in Africa’s physical presence resides within the Institute for Security Studies in Cape Town in South Africa. A small and dedicated team constitute the Corruption and Governance (C&G) Programme.
The team includes a programme head, four senior researchers, a programme administrator and an assistant. The ISS Cape Town Office Manager remains closely associated with the programme’s activities and that of the site.
Each member of the team is all involved in at least two aspects of IPOC. Listed below are the staff and their contact details:
ISS Cape Town Tel: +27 21 461 7211 Fax: +27 21 461 7213
ISAACK OTIENO
Programme Head: Corruption & Governance
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ANDILE SOKOMANI
Senior Researcher: Land Reform; Service Delivery and Party Funding
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TRUSHA REDDY
Senior Researcher: Climate Change Project
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NATASHIA EMMETT
Programme Administrator
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SHAHNAAZ PARKER
Programme Assistant
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COLLETTE SCHULZ-HERZENBERG
Senior Researcher: Conflicts of Interest; Elections and Accountability
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WEBSTER WHANDE
Senior Researcher: Climate Change Project
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Interns
We have benefited from a dedicated group of 35 research interns from universtities across Africa since IPOCs inception.
Donors
IPOC is funded by the Danish Development Agency (Danida) through the Embassy of Denmark and the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) through the Embassy of Norway .
