tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/investigation-33821/articlesInvestigation – The Conversation2023-06-27T06:06:16Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084642023-06-27T06:06:16Z2023-06-27T06:06:16ZThe Titan disaster investigation has begun. An expert explains what might happen next<p>The United States Coast Guard is now <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/26/us/submersible-titanic-implosion-deaths-monday/index.html">leading the investigation</a> into the Titan submersible, looking for answers about why it imploded, and what actions should be taken next.</p>
<p>A multinational search for the Titan came to a halt on Thursday, when a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) found five pieces of debris sprawled across the seabed, some 500 metres from the Titanic shipwreck. The vessel experienced a catastrophic implosion at some point during its journey, with all five passengers presumed dead. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-was-the-catastrophic-implosion-of-the-titan-submersible-an-expert-explains-208359">What was the 'catastrophic implosion' of the Titan submersible? An expert explains</a>
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<p>For now, details elude us – and it could be days, or even weeks, before we receive meaningful updates on the investigation’s progress. Similar past events, such as the 2019 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/world/europe/russian-submarine-fire-losharik.html">fire in the Russian submarine Losharik</a>, have shown how sensitively the details of such investigations should be treated. </p>
<p>The Titan disaster happened in international waters, in a commercially operated vessel, and with victims of different nationalities. Officials will likely want to be certain about any details released – and some may not be disclosed at all.</p>
<h2>What happens next?</h2>
<p>The Titan, a research and exploration sub <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stockton-rush-manned-submersibles-science-exploration/id1515818448?i=1000493347762">owned by US company OceanGate</a>, lost contact with its surface vessel on Sunday morning, about one hour and 45 minutes after its departure.</p>
<p>Chief investigator Jason Neubauer said the US Coast Guard will receive help from Canada, France and the United Kingdom. He said authorities had already mapped the accident site, and the inquiry will aim to address several questions, including:</p>
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<li>what may have happened to cause the implosion?</li>
<li>how can safety be improved for future submersible voyages?</li>
<li>what civil or criminal charges should be laid in relation to the events, if any?</li>
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<p>Recovery operations in remote parts of the ocean are painstakingly complex, with myriad variables to consider. We can expect the Titan investigation will <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/titanic-submersible-search-rescue-costs.html">cost millions of dollars</a>.</p>
<h2>Harsh conditions</h2>
<p>The investigation is being carried out at depths of about 3,800m, some 600km from the nearest coastline. The same vessel that identified the initial debris – a deep-sea ROV called <a href="https://pelagic-services.com/web2/index.php/odysseus-rov-system/">Odysseus 6K</a> – is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/titan-submerisble-investigation-1.6889066">reportedly also being used</a> to look for the vessel’s remaining parts. </p>
<p>Manufacturer Pelagic Research Services <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/26/us/submersible-titanic-implosion-deaths-monday/index.html">told CNN</a> the ROV’s lifting capabilities had “been utilised and continue to be utilised”, and that missions would continue for about a week. However, we don’t know whether any debris has been recovered yet.</p>
<p>ROVs can collect vast amounts of data for deep-sea operations, including video footage and sensor readings. Ideally, an ROV will be able to reliably and quickly transmit data back to a support vessel or onshore facility, since real-time data transfer is often needed to make important decisions on the fly. </p>
<p>That said, even if Odysseus 6K delivers on this, some parts of the Titan may never be found. They may have disintegrated during the implosion, drifted too far away from the search area, or be obscured by other debris. </p>
<p>Underwater hazards, harsh weather and strong currents all add to the challenge – especially by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37249969/">limiting visibility</a>. In the deep ocean, turbidity (haziness) and the absence of natural light means visibility is close to zero. Here, only sonar technology (which uses sound waves) may be used for navigation, mapping and locating objects of interest.</p>
<p>Any debris recovered will undoubtedly be valuable. Debris is physical evidence of the implosion, so analysing it will provide information (such as damage patterns and fractures) that can be used to infer the source of the implosion and the forces involved. </p>
<p>Experts can also conduct chemical analyses of the residue on the wreckage. However, this is affected by seawater, so a prompt recovery will be important.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-expert-explains-what-safety-features-a-submersible-should-have-208187">An expert explains what safety features a submersible should have</a>
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<p>The Titan’s remote location means investigators won’t have the luxury of having the quick support offered by coastal rescue stations that can rapidly deploy search and rescue assets and diving teams. </p>
<p>They’ll have to rely on specialised resources, such as large vessels and aircraft with extended range capabilities. Aircraft can provide an elevated platform for visual observation and aerial mapping, as well as remote sensing technologies including radar systems and thermal imaging sensors. </p>
<h2>Finding the remains</h2>
<p>Chief investigator Neubauer has said <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/66015811">searching for victims’</a> remains is on the agenda. But the chances of actually finding them will depend on various factors, including the cause of the implosion, the depth at which it happened, and the surrounding conditions. </p>
<p>A severe implosion may have resulted in extensive fragmentation and scattering of both the submersible’s structure and human remains. Remains can be swept away in currents, or tampered with by marine life.</p>
<p>They also behave differently depending on whether they’re recovered from <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/a65eb1a2d459fb92ea04605ef098497a/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=47323">non-sequestered environments</a> (exposed in the water) or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23232544/">sequestered environments</a> (enclosed in a vessel). In the former scenario, bodies are often <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15166773/">consumed by animals</a> and decomposition causes <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Disappearance-of-soft-tissue-and-the-of-human-from-Haglund/5f5ec4ccf2ebabce7b9bd3106df77a4f78ecf1db">disarticulation</a>, wherein the bones gradually separate at the joints. However, garments can sometimes help to <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/569067-doctor-explains-why-21-human-feet-in-sneakers-may-have-washed-on/">keep things together</a>.</p>
<p>The effort to locate remains may involve observation from long-range aircraft and patrol vessels, or may even rely on radar, sonar or satellite imagery. If remains are located deep underwater, recovering them may involve using a specialised hoisting system designed to handle the challenges of a deep-sea environment.</p>
<h2>Sharing responsibility</h2>
<p>The Titan investigation will involve coordination between multiple entities, including maritime authorities, coast guard services and search and rescue organisations. </p>
<p>It will be subject to international agreements such as the <a href="https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-on-Maritime-Search-and-Rescue-(SAR).aspx">International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue</a>, as well as international law such as
the <a href="https://onboard.sosmediterranee.org/knowledge-base/article-98-duty-to-render-assistance/#">duty to render assistance</a>, which is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This requires that all vessels, regardless of their flag, have a legal obligation to render assistance to any person in distress at sea.</p>
<p>For now, we can only speculate on what the Titan investigation might produce. All we can do is wait, and hope that whatever answers do emerge will be put to good use to make sure something like this never happens again. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-extreme-frontier-travel-booming-despite-the-risks-208201">Why is extreme 'frontier travel' booming despite the risks?</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paola A. Magni does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Titan disaster happened in international waters, in a commercially operated vessel, and with victims of different nationalities. Any details that emerge will likely be treated with sensitivity.Paola A. Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076812023-06-15T12:33:23Z2023-06-15T12:33:23ZHow the Unabomber’s unique linguistic fingerprints led to his capture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532034/original/file-20230614-19-yvo44e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C6%2C2230%2C1518&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ted Kaczynski was arrested after the longest and most expensive investigation in the FBI's history.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/convicted-unabomber-theodore-kaczynski-is-escorted-by-us-news-photo/106884098?adppopup=true">Rich Pedroncelli/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Can the language someone uses be as unique as their fingerprints?</p>
<p>As I describe in my forthcoming book, “<a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781633888982/Linguistic-Fingerprints-How-Language-Creates-and-Reveals-Identity">Linguistic Fingerprints: How Language Creates and Reveals Identity</a>,” that was true in the case of Theodore Kaczynski.</p>
<p>Kaczynski, who was known as the <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/origin-ted-kaczynskis-infamous-nickname-145500991.html">Unabomber</a>, died in a North Carolina prison on June 10, 2023, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ted-kaczynski-unabomber-1197f597364b36e56bdbcaca9837bdc4">reportedly by suicide</a>.</p>
<p>Kaczynski had been a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/05/us/suspect-s-trail-suspect-memories-his-brilliance-shyness-but-little-else.html">math prodigy and a professor</a> at the University of California, Berkeley, before he withdrew from society and declared war on the modern world. </p>
<p>From a <a href="https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/photos-a-look-inside-the-unabombers-montana-cabin/collection_41103cf1-dc68-5950-babc-17861f0b8858.html">remote cabin in Montana</a>, he sent a number of explosive devices through the mail. In other cases, he planted them. Between 1978 and 1995, 16 of his bombs <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/06/10/ted-kaczynski-dead-unabomber/">killed three people</a> and seriously injured nearly two dozen more.</p>
<p>Kaczynski’s crimes triggered the longest and <a href="https://en.as.com/latest_news/ted-kaczynski-the-unabomber-has-died-what-are-some-of-the-most-expensive-fbi-investigations-n/">most expensive</a> criminal investigation in U.S. history. Law enforcement had little to go on other than a few letters that the terrorist had sent to the media, as well as fragments of notes that had survived his device’s detonations.</p>
<h2>Spellings and word choices offer clues</h2>
<p>In 1995, there was a breakthrough. That’s when the Unabomber offered to pause his attacks if a newspaper published his manifesto about the evils of modern society. Controversially, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/20/us/publication-of-unabomber-s-tract-draws-mixed-response.html">The Washington Post did so</a>. The FBI supported the paper’s decision, hoping that someone would recognize the terrorist based on the writing style of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm">35,000-word essay</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Copies of two newspapers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532004/original/file-20230614-22-d0iwj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Washington Post published the Unabomber’s 35,000-word manifesto on Sept. 19, 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-the-front-pages-of-the-new-york-times-and-the-news-photo/106884096?adppopup=true">Luke Frazza/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>FBI forensic linguist <a href="https://www.jamesrfitzgerald.com">James Fitzgerald</a> and sociolinguist <a href="http://www.rogershuy.com">Roger Shuy</a> were able to uncover several clues about the terrorist’s identity based on the manifesto and his other writings.</p>
<p>For example, the Unabomber used strange misspellings for some words, such as “wilfully” for “willfully,” and “clew” for “clue.” Shuy recognized these as <a href="http://www.rogershuy.com/pdf/Linguistic_Profiling.pdf">spelling reforms</a> that had been championed by <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-per-flash-simplespelling-0229-20120129-story.html">The Chicago Tribune</a> during the 1940s and 1950s, although they were never widely adopted.</p>
<p>Their use by the bomber suggested he might have spent his formative years in or near Chicago.</p>
<p>Fitzgerald noted the use of terms like “broad,” “chick” and “negro” in the manifesto was consistent with the vocabulary a middle-aged person from that era.</p>
<p>The Unabomber also referred to “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1ib-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA203&dq=20.+Roger+W.+Shuy,+The+Language+of+Murder+Cases:+Intentionality,+Predisposition,+and+Voluntariness+(Oxford:+Oxford+University+Press,+2014).&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivhfXiqMH_AhVojYkEHbsSBVoQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=snippet&q=raising%20children&f=false">rearing children</a>” as opposed to “raising children.” The former term is characteristic of the northern U.S. dialect and would be consistent with someone who grew up in or near the Windy City.</p>
<p>The manifesto also contains such fairly esoteric terms as “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anomic">anomic</a>” and “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chimerical">chimerical</a>,” suggesting that its author was highly educated.</p>
<h2>A brother’s suspicions</h2>
<p>But the move to publish the manifesto ended up being the decisive factor.</p>
<p>It was read in Schenectady, New York, by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/05/us/suspect-s-trail-family-brother-who-tipped-off-authorities-leads-quiet-simple.html">Linda Patrik</a>, who showed it to her husband, David Kaczynski. She asked if he thought it sounded like something his brother Ted could have written.</p>
<p>David was initially skeptical. Then he noticed that the essay contained unusual expressions, like “cool-headed logicians,” that he remembered his estranged sibling making use of. He <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/09/IHT-a-nagging-feeling-by-family-member-pointed-to-unabomber-suspect.html">approached the FBI</a> with his suspicions, and it was noted that David’s brother had been born in Chicago in 1942.</p>
<p>A search of Kaczynski’s cabin turned up explosive devices, as well as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/13/us/bomber-manifesto-amid-items-found-law-officials-say.html">original copy</a> of the manifesto. Kaczynski <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/23/us/unabomber-case-overview-kaczynski-avoids-death-sentence-with-guilty-plea.html">pleaded guilty</a> in 1998 and was incarcerated until his death at age 81.</p>
<h2>Fingerprinting authors</h2>
<p>The Unabomber investigation has been justifiably hailed as a triumph of forensic linguistics. But sleuths of prose and punctuation have had other notable victories. </p>
<p>Even something as seemingly trivial as unusual punctuation can provide clues to a suspect’s identity – which is what happened in 2018, when a forensic linguist was able to pin a murder on a British man <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6028507/Forensic-linguist-reveals-murderer-snared-sending-texts-commas.htm">because of his unusual use of commas and spacing</a> when sending text messages.</p>
<p>Similar techniques have been used by language experts to identify authors. In 1996, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/4166/primary-colors-by-anonymous/">Primary Colors</a>,” a novel based on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, was published by “anonymous.” English professor Donald Foster was able to finger Newsweek columnist Joe Klein as the author of the work, <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-02-16-1996047127-story.html">noting similarities</a> between the text of “Primary Colors” and Klein’s other published work, which included the use of unusual adverbs (“goofily”), states described as modes (“crisis mode”) and drawn-out interjections (“naww”).</p>
<p>And in 2013, “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” a novel authored with the pen name <a href="https://robert-galbraith.com/stories/the-cuckoos-calling/">Robert Galbraith</a>, was exposed as having been written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-name-game-jk-rowling-and-a-history-of-pseudonyms-16150">J.K. Rowling</a>. <a href="https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=5315">Patrick Juola</a>, a computer scientist, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-23313074">Peter Millican</a>, a philosopher, independently identified the author of the Harry Potter series as the crime novel’s true author. Both men used computer programs to analyze such factors as the distribution of word lengths and common word usage in books written by several suspected authors. They then compared the results to “The Cuckoo’s Calling” and identified Rowling as the closest match.</p>
<h2>An infallible method?</h2>
<p>These techniques seem almost magical when they work. But <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/words-on-trial">they’re not foolproof</a>.</p>
<p>In 2018, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html">published an op-ed</a> written by an anonymous “resister” inside the Trump administration. However, the editorial was too short for linguistic analysis.</p>
<p>Even after the resister published a full-length book, titled “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/books/review/a-warning-anonymous-book-review-trump.html">A Warning</a>,” it wasn’t possible to identify the author. He eventually outed himself as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/politics/miles-taylor-anonymous-trump.html">Miles Taylor</a>. He had served as the chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security. But because he had never published anything else, there was no text to which “A Warning” could be compared.</p>
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<img alt="Man in suit jacket poses with folded arms." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532021/original/file-20230614-31-4yi2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The public learned of Miles Taylor’s identity only after he revealed himself as the author of ‘A Warning.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/miles-taylor-who-has-recently-revealed-himself-as-the-news-photo/1229883086?adppopup=true">Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>And scholars are still debating the identity of <a href="https://elenaferrante.com">Elena Ferrante</a>, the pseudonym used by a bestselling Italian novelist. Ferrante has published a dozen books, including “My Brilliant Friend,” <a href="https://lithub.com/have-italian-scholars-figured-out-the-identity-of-elena-ferrante/">but the author’s true identity remains controversial</a>. </p>
<p>Either way, technological advances have made it increasingly difficult for people who leave a paper trail to hide their identities – and the old adage to “not put anything in writing” is as true as it’s ever been.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger J. Kreuz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Similar techniques used to identify criminals have been employed to unmask anonymous authors. But they aren’t foolproof.Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of MemphisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852732022-07-17T13:26:53Z2022-07-17T13:26:53ZPolice investigations into the deaths of several Indigenous youth in Prince Rupert found inadequate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471651/original/file-20220629-24-odfmio.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C2839%2C2025&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Whale art installation at the waterfront in Prince Rupert, B.C.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Between 2004 and 2013, three young Indigenous people died under mysterious circumstances in Prince Rupert, B.C., and the investigations into their deaths were inadequate. </p>
<p>Each death occurred at the waterfront and was quickly labelled a suicide, accident or slip-and-fall and intoxication — <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20140402/281599533466465">all determinations that come as no surprise to Indigenous communities</a> — <a href="https://www.thenorthernview.com/news/family-of-young-prince-rupert-man-refutes-autopsy-report/">particularly before the completion of a full investigation</a>. </p>
<p>News coverage <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20130820/281487863999519">at the time of the deaths</a> indicated the families of Kayla Rose McKay, 13, Emmalee McLean, 16, and Justin Brooks, 21, fought for information from investigators. </p>
<p>In 2013, the families sought out legal advocacy and a team of people with expertise in challenging Indigenous death investigations formed. They included advocates from <a href="http://vatjss.com/">Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Society Services (VATJSS)</a>, <a href="https://bccla.org/?wpui-script=before%3Fwpui-script%3Dbefore">B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA)</a> and <a href="https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/executive">Grand Chief Stewart Phillip from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC)</a>. The team’s goal was to assist the families in getting information and address the investigative inadequacies.</p>
<p>As part of an academic team dedicated to helping achieve these goals, I examined the investigative conduct from each case and compared it with standard procedure required for both law enforcement and coroners. The results determined that each investigation had several procedural deficiencies. </p>
<h2>Investigative inadequacies</h2>
<p>In the case of Brooks, <a href="https://bccla.org/2013/05/media-thenorthernview-bccla-bcindianchiefs-meet-brooksfamily/">his family presented concerns about how quickly the RCMP returned his bloodied clothing</a> — especially when Brooks had been in a fight the night of his death. </p>
<p>Baseline death investigation policy says that “<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/MinnesotaProtocol.pdf">all material located at a crime scene should be considered potentially relevant to the investigation</a>” and that investigators must collect and preserve all relevant evidence should the case arrive in court. </p>
<p>Given that the coroner had not yet made a final determination of death at this point, the clothing should have been treated as valuable relevant evidence, received forensic analysis and been kept for the duration of the case. By returning the clothing to the family so quickly, forensic analysis wasn’t done meaning the clothing won’t be viable to use in court if the case ever reopens. </p>
<p>Brooks’s family also says they were <a href="https://bccla.org/2013/05/media-thenorthernview-bccla-bcindianchiefs-meet-brooksfamily/">not allowed to identify their son’s body</a> and were unable to confirm whether it was their son who was found at the waterfront. McKay’s family expressed the same, saying investigators denied them the right to view her body after she was found. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1117916509320482822"}"></div></p>
<p>Investigative policy identifies both instances as inadequate procedures. Standard practice requirements state that families should be allowed to designate an individual to identify the deceased at the morgue. It further entitles families, should they choose, “<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/MinnesotaProtocol.pdf">to have a representative present during the autopsy</a>.” </p>
<p>In the cases of McLean and McKay, special investigative attention should have been paid over the suspicious circumstances of their deaths and the age at which they passed. Both girls had acute alcohol poisoning and McKay was noted to have been <a href="https://www.thenorthernview.com/news/rcmp-actions-questioned-as-candlelight-ceremony-honours-youth-found-dead-at-prince-rupert-waterfront/">missing her clothing when found</a>. </p>
<p>In the interest of public well-being, <a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/07015_01#section47">the B.C. Coroners Act</a> gives power to the chief coroner to call a reinvestigation (also known as an inquest) into any unnatural death — particularly when there are multiple similar youth deaths in one area. </p>
<p>Considering the additional suspicious factors like underage alcohol consumption — that McKay was found without clothing and that Brooks was in a fight the night of his death — it is surprising that none of the cases came to inquest or criminal court. </p>
<h2>Community efforts and action</h2>
<p>The inadequate investigations forced the victims’ families to search for information themselves. This is a common occurrence for many Indigenous families when working with law enforcement. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cjwl.28.2.253">Research</a> and <a href="https://oiprd.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/OIPRD-BrokenTrust-Final-Accessible-E.pdf">case reviews</a> report that racism within police forces has not only contributed to direct violence against Indigenous people but also to victim-blaming determinations, refusal to fulfil basic investigative requirements and premature case conclusion. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hands are stretch in the sky, one is wearing a ring" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C5964%2C4221&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471451/original/file-20220628-14476-dwz25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two women hold hands as a group of family members and advocates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls walk along the Highway of Tears in British Columbia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2013, the Brooks family established <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20130820/281487863999519">Justice for Justin</a>, a campaign that fundraised thousands in reward money for public tips. And representatives from UBCIC, VATJSS and BCCLA assisted each of the families in negotiating information from investigators through Freedom of Information requests. </p>
<p>Challenging each of these investigations is ongoing and remains a committed effort between the families, their communities, legal and Indigenous advocacy teams and Simon Fraser University academics. This work brought small triumphs in the forms of a private investigator for Brooks’ case, an academic thesis examination of inadequate procedures and a pro-bono DNA analysis of evidence from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.</p>
<p>Now, years after their children’s deaths, families are still searching for information as <a href="https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/transcripts-exhibits/">thousands of similar cases</a> become visible across Canada. </p>
<p>Recent news stories show that <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/report-urges-more-re-investigations-into-deaths-of-indigenous-people-in-thunder-bay-ont-1.5823592">review of past inadequate investigations is possible</a>. Thunder Bay, Ont., recently had a reinvestigation into the deaths of nine Indigenous people and found similar inadequacies like failure to conduct forensic analysis of evidence, disregard for missing clothing or evidence of sexual assault and refusal to talk with the families. </p>
<p>Reviewers said the inadequacies in the investigations were partly <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/racism-exists-at-all-levels-of-thunder-bay-ont-police-service-review-finds-1.4214534">due to systemic racism and racial stereotypes</a>, and argued that other cases still need review. </p>
<p>It is the duty of us all — settlers, Indigenous people, investigators, academics and members of the public — to not only hear the calls of injustices, but also demand fair and supportive death investigation procedures for all. </p>
<p><em>These findings come from long-term existing relationships with many community and Indigenous partners. Because of the nature of this work, at this time we request and do respect the privacy of individuals, families and communities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steff King does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The investigations of the deaths of three young Indigenous people in northern British Columbia had been inadequate. Justice demands fair and supportive death investigation procedures for all.Steff King, PhD Student, Criminology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1870622022-07-17T13:26:52Z2022-07-17T13:26:52ZHockey trouble: Can the sport overcome its history of neglect and abuse?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474366/original/file-20220715-12-4f9gj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4679%2C2909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Eight members of the 2018 national junior team have been accused of sexual assault.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/hockey-trouble--can-the-sport-overcome-its-history-of-neglect-and-abuse" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>“Hockey is Canada, and Canada is hockey.” At least, that’s what Hockey Canada claimed on Twitter in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hockeycanada/status/1469049248851316744">lead-up to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games</a>. </p>
<p>But after years of toxic behaviour and <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/juniors/article/woman-who-filed-lawsuit-against-hockey-canada-to-participate-in-reopened-investigation/">the news that a woman sued Hockey Canada in 2018</a> — alleging she was sexually assaulted by eight members of the 2018 national junior team — many Canadians would no doubt like to see an end to such equivocating.</p>
<p>“We know we have not done enough to address the actions of some members of the 2018 national junior team, or to end the culture of toxic behaviour within our game,” the organization stated in an <a href="https://hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/hockey-canada-open-letter-to-canadians">open letter to Canadians on July 14</a>. </p>
<p>Hockey Canada ultimately settled the case out of court. But as news of the allegations broke, the organization promised a third-party investigation — but stopped short of requiring all the players involved to participate in the inquiry. <a href="https://www.si.com/nhl/2022/07/14/hockey-canada-investigation-alleged-2018-sexual-assault">That’s now changed</a>.</p>
<h2>A history of violence</h2>
<p>On July 14, <a href="https://twitter.com/aartipole/status/1547939853861470208?s=20&t=FzXaNnSXTsw20bRu-mJCPw">sports writer and activist Shireen Ahmed</a> broke down Hockey Canada’s open letter on <em>CBC News</em>. “Abuse in hockey is not new,” insisted Ahmed. “Sexualized violence in hockey is not new.” </p>
<p>There is a discernible hockey subculture, <a href="https://theconversation.com/showered-in-sexism-hockey-culture-needs-a-reckoning-186002">rooted in violent performances of masculinity</a>, that is undeniably helping fuel this pattern of abuse. And so far, organizations have been reluctant to do anything about it. </p>
<p>Advocates have tried to get hockey’s decision makers to listen, with little success. “There are steps that should have been taken, not in 2018, but possibly 20 years ago,” explained Ahmed.</p>
<p>And many Canadians agree. In a recent survey by the <a href="https://angusreid.org/hockey-culture/">Angus Reid Institute</a>, 56 per cent of respondents who “played or coached youth hockey” felt that “the treatment of women and girls by young male hockey players was misogynistic or disrespectful.” That’s quite a condemnation, but hardly surprising.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, sports researchers like <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cgjsc-rcessc.v3i1.74">Cheryl MacDonald</a> have examined the ways hockey promotes this “misogynistic or disrespectful” behaviour. And research has found that hockey players embrace a type of masculinity that involves not only the domination of women, but also other men.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man skates across a Hockey Canada logo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474364/original/file-20220715-14-soqvrw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a discernable hockey subculture, rooted in violent performances of masculinity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hockey not only produces and reproduces violence against women, but also the marginalization and stigmatization of other men, most notably via homophobia. Men who dare show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.25.4.462">vulnerability</a>, forgoing the stereotypical “tough” hockey player persona, likewise open themselves up to criticism, if not outright bullying. Violence is resolved with more violence.</p>
<p>And for years this masculinity, as historian Peter James Hudson writes, was defended on national television by <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20204221">hockey commentator Don Cherry</a>. </p>
<h2>For Canada?</h2>
<p>The problematic violent masculinity at the heart of Canadian men’s hockey is reinforced by nationalism, producing a particular kind of hockey, associated specifically with the nation. After all, not all hockey is played like Canadian hockey, nor do all hockey cultures experience the same degree of sexual abuse as Canadian hockey. </p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2019.1714681">Kristi A. Allain</a> explains it as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“When those in Canada celebrate hockey as linked to life in Canada, they work to privilege the experiences of young, Anglo, white, middle-class, seemingly straight, and able-bodied men, positioning their experiences as quintessentially tied to national identity in ways not available to others.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Canada’s celebration of a particularly violent hockey culture has a long history. Take the 1972 Summit Series, for example. Arguably Canada’s defining hockey moment, the Summit Series saw Canada defeat the Soviet Union using, to quote sociologist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2013-0108">Ellexis Boyle</a> “tactics of intimidation and aggression that included the deliberate fracturing of an opponent’s ankle.” </p>
<p>Reflecting on the series, Canadian Captain <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPzaVDilFEI">Phil Esposito</a> stated: “I would have killed those sons of bitches to win. It scares me every time I think about it.”</p>
<p>This nationalism — the win at all costs mentality, the notion that “Hockey is Canada, Canada is Hockey” — make hockey players victims, on and off the ice, mere collateral damage. The improprieties and crimes of young men are transformed into a national dilemma; a indictment of a hockey culture <a href="https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/63544/research.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y">that valorizes violence and notions of masculine supremacy</a>. </p>
<p>The basic foundation of <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/sports/hockeys-chance-to-reckon-with-its-culture-of-abuse/">this toxic culture was laid over a hundred years ago</a>, during the intense days of 19th century Canadian nation building. Surely, in the 21st century, we’re capable of a fashioning a more inclusive hockey culture that considers the societal implications of the sport in Canada?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WPzaVDilFEI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Documentary <em>Cold War on Ice: Summit Series ‘72</em></span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overtime</h2>
<p>Combining Canadian nationalism and violent masculinity, hockey and hockey players have harmed — and if Hockey Canada’s reforms fail, will continue to harm — innocent bystanders.</p>
<p>It’s already difficult enough for survivors of sexual assault to secure the conviction of their attacker in Canada — between 2009 and 2014, just <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2017001/article/54870-eng.htm">12 per cent of complaints resulted in convictions</a>. </p>
<p>And when the accused is an elite hockey player, revered for their masculine domination and violence on the ice, celebrated for representing the nation in “Canada’s Game,” pursuing a conviction becomes a near insurmountable task. Oftentimes for the victim, <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-a-sexual-assault-counsellor-heres-why-its-so-hard-for-survivors-to-come-forward-and-what-happens-when-they-do-156038">coming forward may not seem worth it</a>.</p>
<p>The Canadian hockey player can seem untouchable. Even when sexual offences are proved, it hasn’t always mattered to hockey’s decision makers. </p>
<p>In a high-profile example, <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/stu-cowan-second-chance-begins-for-canadiens-prospect-logan-mailloux">Logan Mallioux</a> — who secretly photographed and shared pictures with his team of an 18-year-old woman engaged in a sexual act with him — decided to renounce himself from the NHL draft. The Montréal Canadiens drafted him anyway.</p>
<p>Is Hockey Canada sincere in their quest for reform? Or has a freeze on federal funding and an exodus of major sponsors forced their hand? Call me skeptical, but my money’s on the latter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacIntosh Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is Hockey Canada sincere in their quest for reform? Or has a freeze on federal funding and an exodus of major sponsors forced their hand?MacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1853692022-06-28T19:53:21Z2022-06-28T19:53:21ZJan. 6 hearings are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to important congressional oversight hearings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470377/original/file-20220622-26-nvcdd0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C12%2C8218%2C5413&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack listen during the fourth hearing on June 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-house-select-committee-hearing-to-news-photo/1241440996?adppopup=true">Mandel Ngan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a series of hearings that have received <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-public-hearing-is-different-from-an-investigation-and-what-that-means-for-the-jan-6-committee-184342">prime-time coverage and much public attention</a>, Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony on the afternoon of June 28 contained perhaps the most explosive revelations thus far. </p>
<p>Speaking before a hastily called hearing of the <a href="https://january6th.house.gov/">House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol</a>, Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, revealed that former President Donald Trump was warned about the potential for violence at the Jan. 6 rally and nevertheless wanted security precautions lifted, including the use of magnetometers to detect weapons. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/us/meadows-aide-to-testify-before-jan-6-panel-at-surprise-hearing.html?smid=url-share">She also testified that</a> a furious Trump tried to grab control of the steering wheel of his SUV from his Secret Service driver so he could be driven to the Capitol, not the White House, after the rally.</p>
<p>The hearings have provided a meticulously crafted narrative of the events that led to – and took place on – Jan. 6, 2021. Yet despite the revelatory and unique content of these hearings, the select committee’s work represents only a small fraction of the steady stream of oversight work Congress conducts every day. </p>
<p>Oversight, broadly speaking, may best be described as information gathering that is not directly related to a specific bill under consideration by Congress. In the 116th Congress, which met from 2019 to 2020, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-house-oversight-in-the-trump-era/">the House alone held 405 hearings not related to specific pieces of legislation</a>.</p>
<p>What is the nature of this less prominent oversight work? Why is this work important?</p>
<h2>‘Police patrol’ vs. ‘fire alarm’</h2>
<p>The political scientists Matthew McCubbins and Thomas Schwartz have classified Congress’ nonlegislative work as consisting of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2110792">“police patrol” oversight and “fire alarm” investigations</a>. </p>
<p>“Fire alarm” probes are initiated when something specific has gone wrong: a protest that turns violent, perhaps; the government’s <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CRPT-109hrpt377/CRPT-109hrpt377">poor response to a natural disaster</a>; or an agency that is caught wasting taxpayer money. In these investigations, Congress’ job is to figure out what happened and demand some form of justice on behalf of the American public. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a dark suit, white shirt, gesturing with both his hands out and talking to someone across the room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470378/original/file-20220622-7816-1tu0f6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘We were not prepared for this,’ said William Lokey, FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer for Louisiana during the response to Hurricane Katrina, in a Jan. 30, 2006, Senate committee hearing investigating the federal government’s poor response to that hurricane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/william-lokey-chief-of-the-federal-emergency-management-news-photo/56705025?adppopup=true">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Justice could include the firing, resignation or criminal indictment of a government official. That happened most famously in the aftermath of Congress’ Watergate investigation, which led to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/us/watergate-fast-facts/index.html">President Richard Nixon’s resignation and convictions of three Nixon aides for obstruction of justice</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to this retroactive investigative work, Congress also keeps watch over federal agencies and programs. Like a police car idling on a street before any actual crime is committed, congressional committees oversee what federal agencies are doing to stave off waste, fraud and abuse before it happens. </p>
<p>Committees accomplish this by consistently requesting documents and testimony from agency officials, and also by relying on the work of the independent, nonpartisan agencies such as the <a href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20080910_RL30349_4ca46f580380ac76857b3e32e4be3937b331909a.pdf">Government Accountability Office</a>, commonly referred to as the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/about">“congressional watchdog,”</a> and the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45450">Offices of Inspectors General</a>. In some cases, Congress will write into law the requirement that agencies provide intermittent updates on the <a href="https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20200514_R46357_3c89b961380edcaceb4d4623833bf92f93e424b1.pdf">implementation and success of new programs</a>. </p>
<h2>Checks and balances</h2>
<p>While Congress’ power to conduct investigations is not explicit in the U.S. Constitution, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-8/clause-18/implied-power-of-congress-to-conduct-investigations-and-oversight-doctrine-and-practice">the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed</a> the legislative branch’s broad oversight powers. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/354/178">Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in 1957</a>: “The power of the Congress to conduct investigations is inherent in the legislative process. That power is broad. It encompasses inquiries concerning the administration of existing laws as well as proposed or possibly needed statutes. … It comprehends probes into departments of the Federal Government to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste.”</p>
<p>Most importantly, Congress’ power to investigate is a crucial part of the Constitution’s checks-and-balances framework. </p>
<p>Of the federal government’s three branches – legislative, judicial and executive – Congress is the most closely connected to the American people. By ensuring that the president and the large, sprawling federal bureaucracy are held accountable for their mistakes by directly elected representatives, Congress prevents the executive branch from becoming too powerful. While <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RL32935.pdf">Congress also has some authority to investigate the federal judiciary</a>, it is a much rarer target.</p>
<p>Additionally, an important and yet often overlooked part of accountability is the process of learning, and then applying, practical lessons from past mistakes. Congress’ oversight work looks at government in three dimensions: why things went wrong in the past, how things are going now, and what can be done to make things better in the future. </p>
<p>Committees thus often propose legislative recommendations at the end of investigations. For instance, the Jan. 6 committee may suggest ways in which Congress can <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/05/january-6-committee-electoral-college-reforms">increase the security and legitimacy of American elections</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A serious-looking man in a blue suit bangs a gavel on a desktop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470383/original/file-20220622-15-jpgaci.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., leads an April 2, 2019, meeting of the committee investigating security clearances granted by the Trump White House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/WhiteHouseSecurityClearances/95dc3f77a7884cb78388802873c1f6ed/photo?Query=Elijah%20Cummings%20committee&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=&totalCount=135&currentItemNo=44">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span>
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<h2>Wider focus</h2>
<p>Congressional committees also may focus entire investigations on broad policy issues – anything from <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/Oversight%20Environment%20Subcommittee%20-%20116th%20Climate%20Change%20Series%20Staff%20Report.pdf">the effects of climate change</a> to <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Backpage%20Report%202017.01.10%20FINAL.pdf">online sex trafficking</a> to <a href="https://info.publicintelligence.net/US-CellSiteSimulatorsPrivacy.pdf">the use of surveillance technology</a>. </p>
<p>These types of investigations are necessary for two reasons: First, members need to understand an issue in depth before they can propose effective legislation. Second, members need to build public support for their particular approach to a problem, and this requires that the people understand it.</p>
<p>For example, in <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elijah-cummings-new-power-as-house-oversight-committee-chairman-for-investigating-trump-60-minutes/">January 2019, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland took over the chairmanship</a> of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform after the midterm elections returned Democrats to the majority. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/17/magazine/democrats-trump-investigation.html">Many observers expected</a> that his committee – the only one in the House devoted almost exclusively to oversight – would launch several investigations into then-President Donald Trump’s administration. </p>
<p>Indeed, the committee’s investigators immediately began looking into <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2019-01-23.EEC%20to%20Cipollone-WH%20re%20Security%20Clearances.pdf">problems with the White House’s security clearance process</a> and <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2019-07-2019.%20Immigrant%20Child%20Separations-%20Staff%20Report.pdf">child separations at the U.S.-Mexico border</a>, among other issues. </p>
<p>But the committee’s first hearing of the congressional session wasn’t focused on the Trump administration. Instead, it was on a policy issue close to Cummings’ heart: the high cost of prescription drugs. The purpose of the hearing and of the committee’s broader investigation, <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/legislation/hearings/examining-the-actions-of-drug-companies-in-raising-prescription-drug-prices">Cummings said</a>, was to “examine the actions of drug companies in raising prescription drug process and the effects of these actions on federal and state budgets and on American families.” Among the witnesses was <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO00/20190129/108817/HHRG-116-GO00-Wstate-WorshamA-20190129.pdf">Antroinette Worsham, whose daughter died because she was forced to ration insulin to treat her diabetes</a>. </p>
<p>During Cummings’ 10-month chairmanship, from January to October 2019, the committee held four hearings on prescription drugs, <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/reports">culminating in five reports</a> on the pricing practices at companies like Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb. In December 2019, the House passed the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/us/politics/house-prescription-drug-prices.html">Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act</a> with two Republican votes, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/23/health-202-democrats-see-pathway-their-ambitious-drug-pricing-bill/">similar bipartisan legislation is currently under consideration in the Senate</a>. </p>
<p>And following this investigation, the Trump administration also <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/a-status-report-on-prescription-drug-policies-and-proposals-at-the-start-of-the-biden-administration/">issued several new directives intended to lower drug prices</a> for American consumers. </p>
<p>Of course, policymaking is a slow process, and change doesn’t happen overnight. But the committee’s drug-pricing investigation not only led to legislative action in the House but also may have contributed to administration action on an issue that appears to inspire genuine cross-party consensus. </p>
<p>There have been instances in which congressional investigations produce more immediate and tangible results. In May 2019, the CEO of TransDigm, a defense contractor, appeared before the House Oversight Committee <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2019/Feb/27/2002093922/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2019-060.PDF">to respond to reports</a> that the company had gouged prices and overcharged the Department of Defense US$16 million for military aircraft. A week later, <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/transdigm-to-refund-161-million-to-dod-as-a-result-of-committee-investigation">TransDigm agreed to pay the full amount back to the government</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/transdigm-to-refund-161-million-to-dod-as-a-result-of-committee-investigation">Said Cummings</a>: “This is solid, bread-and-butter oversight that helps our troops and the American taxpayers. We saved more money today for the American people than our committee’s entire budget for the year.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185369/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Leavitt has received funding from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy. </span></em></p>Congress has the power to make sure government serves the public interest. Conducting investigations is one way lawmakers do that.Claire Leavitt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies, Grinnell CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1854472022-06-22T14:53:15Z2022-06-22T14:53:15ZHow Nairobi police failures let people get away with murder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469994/original/file-20220621-17-iswo86.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A protest against police brutality outside parliament buildings in Nairobi.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Meinhardt/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At least <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/counties/article/2001361964/how-police-get-away-with-murder-report">one person gets killed every two days</a> in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. Most of these cases <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/17/the-wounds-wont-heal-kenyas-agonising-wait-for-justice-on-killings-by-police">are never resolved</a>. Only 94 murder cases were registered in Nairobi courts in 2021.</p>
<p>Nairobi is Kenya’s most populous city with more than <a href="https://www.knbs.or.ke/2019-kenya-population-and-housing-census-results/">four million people</a>. Like other major cities across Africa, it grapples with crime amid the strained provision of policing services. Kenya was ranked fourth in the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1223810/countries-with-the-highest-organized-crime-index-in-africa/">2021 Organised Crime Index</a> in Africa, with the <a href="https://www.knbs.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Economic-Survey1.pdf">2022 Economic Survey</a> reporting that Nairobi regularly records the highest number of crimes in the country. </p>
<p>The swift progress the Directorate of Criminal Investigations made in investigating the murder of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDXux7pqkw">Dutch businessman Tob Cohen</a>, who had lived in Kenya for years, is largely unheard of. Investigators drawn from the directorate’s homicide unit took <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-09-01-the-new-detective-in-town-how-dci-is-using-tech-to-crack-crime/">less than two months</a> to unravel Cohen’s 2019 murder and apprehend the perpetrators. </p>
<p>The country’s criminal justice system has a history of failing to crack <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/unsolved-murders-high-profile-cases-yet-to-be-closed-207752">high-profile murders</a>. Cases are characterised by shambolic investigations that eventually lead to their being dismissed due to a lack of evidence.</p>
<p>Unresolved murders that have captured national attention include that of an International Criminal Court witness and whistleblower <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31799171">Meshack Yebei</a> in 2015. He had been lined up to testify against Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto who was facing charges – that were later dropped – at The Hague-based court.</p>
<p>University student <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/nairobi/article/2000080721/police-say-varsity-student-keino-was-murdered">Mercy Keino’s body</a> was found along a major Nairobi highway in 2013. Her murderers are yet to face justice. The same holds for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40807425">Chris Msando</a>, an elections official who was tortured and killed just weeks before Kenya’s 2017 poll.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/justiceforsheila-highlights-the-precarious-lives-of-queer-people-in-kenya-183102">#JusticeForSheila highlights the precarious lives of queer people in Kenya</a>
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<p>Several challenges lie behind the failure of policing agencies to unravel murder cases. These include: poor evidence gathering; mistreatment and manhandling of potential witnesses; police negligence and recklessness; a lack of forensic capability; a poor legal and regulatory environment; and accusations of police involvement in extra-judicial killings.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://repository.kippra.or.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/2745/policing.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">my research</a> on public sector reforms and policing in Kenya, I believe that the situation can be reversed. For this to happen, however, the <a href="https://www.npsc.go.ke/about-us/">National Police Service</a> must fully implement policing reforms that have been ongoing for the last 12 years.</p>
<h2>The challenges</h2>
<p><strong>Poor evidence gathering and mistreatment of potential witnesses:</strong> Under Kenya’s National Police Service <a href="https://www.nationalpolice.go.ke/downloads/category/5-acts.html">regulations</a>, the first responders at a crime scene are tasked with securing it for the collection of forensic evidence. However, this often doesn’t happen. It is common to see community members crowding around crime scenes, contaminating crucial evidence. </p>
<p>Witnesses are also critical to court processes. But there have been cases of police officers <a href="https://pettyoffences.org/kenyadrunk-and-disorderly-poor-mans-offence-a-cash-cow-for-police/">rounding up and mishandling anybody</a> at a crime scene. This includes potential witnesses, which makes them reluctant to cooperate with investigators. </p>
<p>Ideally, the details and contacts of potential witnesses ought to be recorded before they leave the scene. And the police must avoid detaining witnesses without justifiable reason.</p>
<p><strong>Police incompetence and recklessness:</strong> Police officers have been called out by the courts for carrying out <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/nairobi/article/2001327141/how-police-bungle-open-and-shut-murder-cases">shoddy investigations</a> or deliberately failing to submit critical evidence. </p>
<p>An example involves the killing of a member of parliament, <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/opinion/how-police-bungle-probes-from-the-word-go-1067846">George Muchai,</a> and his three aides in 2015. The four men were <a href="https://nairobinews.nation.africa/witness-this-is-how-mp-muchai-was-killed/">shot and killed</a> on the streets of Nairobi. In court, however, police officers issued contradicting information on what happened. </p>
<p>In yet other cases, the courts have faulted police officers for relying on <a href="https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/40149-suspect-3-murders-set-free-after-police-bungle-investigation">rumours and innuendo</a>. This has often resulted in acquittals due to a lack of evidence or even the prosecution of innocent suspects. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-violence-is-a-hallmark-of-kenyan-policing-and-what-needs-to-change-139878">Why violence is a hallmark of Kenyan policing. And what needs to change</a>
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<p><strong>Lack of forensic capability:</strong> Kenya has finally launched a <a href="https://www.president.go.ke/2022/06/13/president-kenyatta-officially-opens-dci-national-forensic-laboratory/">forensic laboratory</a> after a nearly 20-year delay caused by various <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/why-newly-launched-dci-national-forensic-laboratory-was-overdue-3853436">corruption scandals</a>. Investigators previously relied on forensic laboratories in <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001447864/uhuru-kenyatta-launches-forensic-lab-ends-two-decade-wait-for-change">South Africa or Europe</a>. </p>
<p>In most cases, the cost of shipping samples abroad was borne by the families of victims, and it could take months to get results. </p>
<p><strong>Poor legal and regulatory environment:</strong> The National Police Service doesn’t have an official policy that guides officers on how to interact with communities. Its <a href="https://www.nationalpolice.go.ke/downloads/category/5-acts.html">Service Standing Orders</a> are archaic. They are not aligned with the constitution of Kenya, which spells out the rights of citizens even during emergencies. There are cases in which police officers have used <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2022/06/03/kenya-four-shot-dead-in-protest-against-dangerous-wildlife/">live ammunition</a> on unarmed citizens, alleging self defence. </p>
<p><strong>Inadequate data:</strong> Kenya doesn’t have a national crime register that would make it easier for policing agencies to identify habitual criminals within communities. </p>
<p><strong>Allegations of police involvement in extra-judicial killings:</strong> Police officers in Kenya have been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/22/kenya-police-brutality-during-curfew">accused</a> of extra-judicial killings, making it nearly impossible for the public to expect them to be neutral during investigations and subsequent trials of suspects.</p>
<p>Many of the killings that are reported and documented involve the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/20/kenya-no-letup-killings-nairobi-police">deaths of victims of police-related actions</a>. In such cases, investigations are often <a href="https://www.one.org/africa/blog/ndwiga-brothers-death-police-brutality-kenya/">bungled from the beginning</a> due to the ‘blue code of silence’ common within policing agencies. This sees many crimes involving police officers <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/193506/">deliberately covered up</a> by their colleagues. </p>
<p>A public oversight body, the <a href="http://www.ipoa.go.ke/">Independent Policing Oversight Authority </a>, is mandated to investigate cases of police misconduct. However, it has often met resistance from policing agencies in carrying out its work.</p>
<p>In addition, the country is yet to effect the <a href="https://www.knchr.org/Portals/0/Handbook%20On%20The%20National%20Coroners%20Service%20Act%2C%202017_2018.pdf">National Coroners Service Act 2017</a>. This law transfers the investigation of unnatural and violent deaths, including of people in police custody and prisons, from policing agencies to the office of a coroner general. </p>
<h2>The solutions</h2>
<p>First, evidence gathering and the treatment of witnesses needs to improve. The National Police Service must restore public confidence in its ability to investigate crimes. Police officers need to treat communities as partners in crime resolution, not as suspects.</p>
<p>Second, police incompetence needs to be addressed. The Internal Affairs Unit of the police rarely makes its findings on cases of misconduct open. Neither does it say what action was taken. The unit needs to work with communities to build public trust and ensure that cases of police negligence, recklessness and misconduct are addressed.</p>
<p>Third, forensic capabilities need to be improved. The <a href="https://www.president.go.ke/2022/06/13/president-kenyatta-officially-opens-dci-national-forensic-laboratory/">National Forensic Laboratory</a> is expected to improve officers’ ability to resolve complex crimes and support the criminal justice system through evidence-based investigations. </p>
<p>With changes in technology, the police service must ensure that the forensic laboratory stays updated and that it appoints officers with high integrity.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-police-forensic-scientists-investigate-a-case-a-clandestine-gravesite-recovery-expert-explains-171959">How do police forensic scientists investigate a case? A clandestine gravesite recovery expert explains</a>
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<p>Fourth, Kenya needs a stronger regulatory environment. The National Coroners Service Act, if implemented, <a href="https://www.amnestykenya.org/establish-coroner-generals-office-to-help-solve-rising-murder-mysteries/">is key</a>. This law would ensure that many unresolved murders are dealt with through forensic science.</p>
<p>Lastly, the country must address the issue of extra-judicial killings. This can be done by fixing weak forensic laws that help abet unlawful police killings and enable murder suspects to outmanoeuvre the law by either compromising investigators or court officials. </p>
<p>An audit of extra-judicial killings needs to be undertaken, leading to open and independent vetting of all police officers who come into contact with communities. </p>
<p>Continuous training, retraining, reevaluation and reconfiguration of how policing agencies conduct their business is critical. And officers who engage in crime, negligence and murders must be sanctioned heavily and removed from the service.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Lucas Kivoi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A host of problems are behind police failures, including poor evidence gathering and the mistreatment of witnesses.Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Principal Policy Analyst, Governance Department, The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843422022-06-07T13:31:40Z2022-06-07T13:31:40ZHow a public hearing is different from an investigation – and what that means for the Jan. 6 committee<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467251/original/file-20220606-13060-6986u0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C8155%2C5457&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pro-Trump protesters approach the entrance to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/asset_images/467251/edit?content_id=184342">Win McNamee/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Thursday, June 9, the <a href="https://january6th.house.gov/">House Select Committee</a> to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol holds the first of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-donald-trump-government-and-politics-election-2020-presidential-elections-181597f4bcdb646eae9351bad301bd3a">several public hearings</a>.</p>
<p>The committee aims to lay out the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/05/us-capitol-attack-televised-hearing-january-6">results of months of investigative work</a> into the involvement of President Donald Trump and his political allies in the 2021 insurrection and other attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. </p>
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<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/how-a-public-hearing-is-different-from-an-investigation-and-what-that-means-for-the-jan-6-committee-184342&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Committee members and staff <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/04/jan-6-committee-set-make-its-case-public-with-prime-time-hearing/">reviewed more than 125,000 documents and conducted more than 1,000 interviews and depositions</a> with key witnesses, including high-profile Trump allies.</p>
<p>Blockbuster hearings are fascinating and even fun; they dominate the political and cultural conversation and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8kFqycfFM">prompt movie stars to show up in “Saturday Night Live” cold opens</a>. But what do they actually accomplish? </p>
<p><a href="https://claireleavitt.com/">I am a scholar of Congressional oversight</a> and, in 2019, spent a year working on the Democratic majority staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The question I field most often from curious students and peers is a simple one: What do these hearings do? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of men and women, looking down at notes as they sit at a high table, all in a row." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467248/original/file-20220606-20-60gofv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson delivers remarks during a January 6th committee business meeting on Capitol Hill, March 28, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chairman-rep-bennie-thompson-delivers-remarks-during-a-news-photo/1239592215?adppopup=true">Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Culmination of the process</h2>
<p>First, a crucial distinction: Investigations are meant to acquire information, hearings are meant to present it. </p>
<p>While the committee’s public hearings will reveal new information about the insurrection to the American public, it is far less likely that the committee itself will learn something new. </p>
<p>The committee has not yet provided a list of witnesses, but former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short, conservative lawyer and former Pence adviser J. Michael Luttig and former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/04/jan-6-committee-set-make-its-case-public-with-prime-time-hearing/">are likely to appear</a>. Recorded testimony of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner may be showcased. </p>
<p>High-profile hearings tend to be choreographed affairs, presenting a tightly woven narrative to the public. By now, most of the investigative work has already been done, and public hearings are best viewed as the culmination of the process. </p>
<p>This is not to say that public hearings are substantively unimportant. The upcoming hearings will outline, in detail, what happened in the weeks after the 2020 election and on the day of the attack. They will show the public “how one thing led to another, how one line of effort to overturn the election led to another and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-schiff-justice-department-mark-meadows-dan-scavino-deeply-troubling-face-the-nation/">ultimately led to terrible violence</a>,” as committee member Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, put it on June 5, 2022. </p>
<p>Official documents and witness testimony presented at committee hearings are compiled and maintained by the House and Senate. Committees publish most transcripts of public hearings. This public record serves as an important baseline and cache of information for future investigators, both inside and outside of Congress, and ensures that any member of the public has easy access to the most significant evidence. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Former President Donald Trump in a black coat, standing in front of many American flags, pointing his gloved finger at something." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467256/original/file-20220606-12-10i1yj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Defeated President Donald Trump at the rally in the nation’s capital on Jan. 6 to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory in the 2020 election.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-greets-the-crowd-at-the-stop-the-news-photo/1294918247?adppopup=true">Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Just the facts’ approach</h2>
<p>More broadly, public hearings establish a shared foundation of facts that can inform short- and long-term debates – around the dinner table, in the media, in Congress and among scholars – over how major events should be interpreted. </p>
<p>Hearings also serve as a kind of preemptive justification for specific legal and legislative actions that may follow the investigation. For example, if the committee does end up <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/politics/jan-6-trump-criminal-referral.html">recommending criminal charges against Trump and his allies</a>, the hearings have already explained the legitimacy of these charges to the public. If the committee makes <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/05/january-6-committee-electoral-college-reforms">legislative recommendations to reform elections</a>, the public will have a better idea of why these changes are necessary.</p>
<p>The big question is whether these hearings will convince anybody of anything. </p>
<p>Political scientist Paul Light has said that the most effective investigative hearings are the ones that focus on careful, thorough and objective fact-finding rather than “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-the-house-should-investigate-the-trump-administration/">bright lights, perp walks and brutal questioning</a>.” </p>
<p>The reality is that hearings also provide members of Congress valuable opportunities to build their own “brands” by <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1350218">staking out clear positions on controversial issues</a>, often by <a href="http://fordhamlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Chafetz-November-7.pdf">using dramatic and overwrought language</a>. These “presentational styles” <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/representational-style-in-congress/AD32D8ABA29E78C048B41077D64BDD9A">affect constituents’ views about how well they are being represented</a>. </p>
<p>Members recognize this dynamic themselves: In 2019, Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, referred to the House Oversight Committee on which he served as the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/new-members-areprepared-%20battle-house-oversight-committee-n963751">“theater committee,” and maintained</a> that “you could make a grandma feel bad about making cookies for her grandkids if she’s sitting in front of you.” </p>
<p>Political science research has also established that investigative hearings are very useful weapons in the partisan wars: Inquiries targeting the president and the executive branch <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022381613001448">can significantly diminish the president’s public approval</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, members on an investigative committee often find themselves facing contradictory options: They want the committee’s work to appear legitimate to the American people, but they also don’t want to pass up opportunities to burnish their own reputations and go viral on social media.</p>
<p>The Jan. 6th committee appears to have opted for a just-the-facts-ma’am approach to the public hearings. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/23/capitol-attack-panel-public-hearings-trump">Committee lawyers will do the bulk of the witness questioning</a>, deliberately making the witnesses’ information the focus rather than the personalities and rhetoric of the committee members. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-haired woman carrying a water bottle and with a bag slung over her should, leaves a building and walks on snow-covered pavement.." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467250/original/file-20220606-13103-f3rhii.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Stephanie Grisham, former press secretary for former President Donald Trump, departs on Jan. 5, 2022, after participating in a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill with the House select committee investigating the January 6th U.S. Capitol attack.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/stephanie-grisham-former-press-secretary-for-former-news-photo/1362996682?adppopup=true">Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Aiming for credibility</h2>
<p>Committee members’ personalities will likely not play as big a role here as they ordinarily would. That’s especially important to the current panel’s credibility, considering its origins. </p>
<p>In May 2021, the Senate killed legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate the attacks that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-riots-terrorist-attacks-donald-trump-capitol-siege-ac4cf46ad3e0617a045eb926d21945eb">would have been modeled on the 9/11 Commission</a>. The House instead established a select committee, with the support of only two Republicans. </p>
<p>Select committees are <a href="https://history.house.gov/Education/Fact-Sheets/Committees-Fact-Sheet2/#:%7E:text=Select%20committees%20are%20created%20by,studies%20rather%20than%20consider%20measures.">established by Congress to investigate a specific issue</a> and exist for a finite time period. Both Democrats and Republicans ordinarily serve on select committees, each appointed by their respective party leaders.</p>
<p>However, in an unprecedented move, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed two of Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks, Trump allies Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana, arguing that their participation would jeopardize the “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/politics/nancy-pelosi-rejects-republicans-from-committee/index.html">integrity of the investigation</a>.” McCarthy responded by refusing to appoint any Republicans to the panel. </p>
<p>Two Republicans, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, agreed to serve as Pelosi appointees on the nine-member committee. Pelosi’s decision <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/03/trump-january-6-hearings-republicans">delegitimized the committee’s work in the eyes of Republican stalwarts</a>. But the Democratic speaker’s appointment of these two Republicans also made it possible for all members of the committee to work together collaboratively. Pelosi chose actual bipartisanship against the mere appearance of it. </p>
<p>And she may not even have had to sacrifice appearance: A staunch conservative like Liz Cheney and an outspoken progressive like Adam Schiff working alongside one another, I believe, presents a compelling picture of bipartisan cooperation to the larger swath of the public that doesn’t pay close attention to politics. </p>
<p>It is no accident that Cheney was made vice-chair of the committee and regularly appears alongside Democratic chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi at press conferences and committee meetings. There is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/02/house-jan-6-committee-popular-republicans-526092">broad public support for the Jan. 6th investigation</a> even as <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-are-moving-on-from-jan-6-even-if-congress-hasnt/">public attention to the attacks themselves has begun to wane</a>. </p>
<p>Pelosi may have gambled that having prominent and outspoken Trump allies on the committee would do more harm than good, since there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00522.x">some evidence to suggest</a> that negative partisan attacks can diminish overall political engagement among the public. Public reception of the hearings will demonstrate whether Pelosi’s gambit paid off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184342/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Leavitt has received funding from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy. </span></em></p>On the eve of public hearings held by Congress’ January 6 investigative committee, a former oversight staffer for the House of Representatives explains what such hearings aim to accomplish.Claire Leavitt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies, Grinnell CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005802018-07-26T19:57:33Z2018-07-26T19:57:33ZEmma Husar allegations show a need for clearer rules about what MPs can - and cannot - do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229383/original/file-20180726-106511-1cm5ucw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Labor MP Emma Husar has taken personal leave while the party investigates claims against her.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mick Tsikas</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Labor MP Emma Husar is facing pressure to resign, following <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/aliceworkman/labor-mp-emma-husar-under-investigation?utm_term=.dwJKbvV8mE#.bpqkLnEmWQ">revelations</a> that she tasked her electorate office staff with childminding and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv0VAwId4ss">picking up dog poo</a>. Her staffers have also alleged that she engaged in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/24/labor-mp-emma-husar-takes-personal-leave-after-bullying-allegations-take-toll">workplace harassment and bullying</a>. </p>
<p>Husar is now on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-24/embattled-labor-mp-emma-husar-takes-personal-leave/10030986">personal leave</a> and the issue is being investigated by the Labor Party.</p>
<p>As we are hit by scandal after scandal involving political staff, from <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-barnaby-joyce-affair-highlights-australias-weak-regulation-of-ministerial-staffers-91744">Barnaby Joyce</a> and his love affair, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-of-michaelia-cash-and-her-leaking-adviser-illustrates-a-failure-of-ministerial-responsibility-86399">Michaelia Cash</a> and her leaking adviser, it is time to take a closer look at these political staffers and their role in our democratic system. </p>
<h2>Who are staffers and what do they do?</h2>
<p>There are two main categories of political staff. The first is ministerial advisers, who advise ministers and parliamentary secretaries on their ministerial portfolio. The second is electorate officers, who assist MPs in carrying out their local duties of representing the people who voted for them. </p>
<p>Unlike the neutral and impartial public service, these staffers are political and partisan, focused on electoral success for their party. They are often young apparatchiks, sometimes with their own political ambitions. </p>
<p>So, is tasking electorate staff with child- and dog-minding acceptable?</p>
<p>These officers are hired to support MPs in administrative, communications and financial matters as they represent their constituents. Dog-walking and child-minding are not part of an MP’s professional role, and therefore should not be part of the deal. </p>
<p>Although Husar’s <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/aliceworkman/labor-mp-emma-husar-under-investigation?utm_term=.dwJKbvV8mE#.bpqkLnEmWQ">job advertisement</a> refers to her staff supporting her personal and family obligations, this is not appropriate. Staffers are publicly funded, and the taxpayer should not have to pick up the bill for an MP’s family life. This should be funded through her personal funds, from her (very generous) salary as an MP. </p>
<h2>How are MPs and electorate officers regulated?</h2>
<p>Both <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/government/statement-ministerial-standards">ministers</a> and <a href="http://www.smos.gov.au/resources/statement-of-standards.html">ministerial advisers</a> are subject to a Statement of Standards. This sets out a code of conduct to achieve the expected standards of behaviour. </p>
<p>But these standards do not apply to MPs who are not ministers. They also do not apply to electorate staff.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/barnaby-joyces-decision-to-sell-his-story-is-a-breach-of-professional-ethics-97458">Barnaby Joyce's decision to sell his story is a breach of professional ethics</a>
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<p>There is therefore a regulatory vacuum for federal MPs and electorate officers, without even a code of conduct regulating their behaviour. Yet MPs and electorate officers are publicly funded. This is a gap that should be fixed. </p>
<p>Despite discussions that have persisted for three decades, we still do not have an MPs’ code of conduct at the federal level. This means that MPs have no formalised guidance about the appropriate boundaries of behaviour, or about avoiding conflicts of interest. Likewise, electorate officers lack a code of behaviour. This is a glaring omission.</p>
<p>Politicians drag their heels on reforming the system because they benefit from having nonexistent regulations or lax rules. They can claim they acted appropriately or within any vague rules, or blame their staff if things go wrong. </p>
<p>This is why we have so many controversies involving ministers, MPs and their staff hitting the headline news - but remarkably few about remedial action or law reform. </p>
<p>Equivalent jurisdictions such as the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/code-of-conduct-and-rules-of-the-house/">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="http://www.ourcommons.ca/About/StandingOrders/appa1-e.htm">Canada</a> have a code of conduct for their MPs. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/now-for-the-big-question-who-do-you-trust-to-run-the-country-58723">public trust</a> in ministers and MPs falls, it is necessary to look to reform our political institutions. Examining parliamentary integrity systems and the regulation of political advisers would be a very good place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yee-Fui Ng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With public trust in politicians low, it’s time to look at making tighter, clearer regulations about MP behaviour, including the role of their staffers.Yee-Fui Ng, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/867822017-11-12T09:45:11Z2017-11-12T09:45:11ZWhy it’s time competition law was applied to sport in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193773/original/file-20171108-27037-195x465.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>An increasing number of popular sports clubs, like Manchester United and Real Madrid, have their stocks publicly traded in major stock exchanges around the world. This underlines the view that sport is no longer simply a cultural spectacle. It’s also become <a href="https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/23738/dissertation.pdf?sequence=1">big business</a>.</p>
<p>This applies to South Africa, where football, rugby and cricket have become big commercial affairs. Because sport isn’t formally recognised as an economic sector in South Africa, figures are hard to come by. But data from the South African Department of Sports and Recreation <a href="http://www.srsa.gov.za/MediaLib/Home/DocumentLibrary/Case%20for%20Sport%20-%20Oct%202009%20(Final).pdf">estimates</a> that in 2009 sporting activity contributed about 2.1% to the country’s GDP – that’s about R41 billion.</p>
<p>It’s beyond doubt that the contribution of sport as a sector to the country’s economy has increased over the past decade. Not only does sport create paid employment within the game, it also supports other economic sectors such as tourism and infrastructure development.</p>
<p>But, like many other sectors of the South African economy, the business of sport is riddled with unfair practices that probably infringe the <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/pocket-act-august-20141.pdf">Competition Act</a>. Until recently, for the most part these had been allowed to go unchecked by competition authorities. </p>
<p>There are signs that this might be changing. Following an investigation, the country’s competition commission has announced it will be <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/FOOTBALL-AGENTS-TO-BE-PROSECUTED-FOR-PRICE-FIXING-002.pdf">prosecuting</a> football agents, their companies and the South African Football Intermediaries Association <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/sport/soccer/psl/competition-commission-target-sa-soccer-agents-for-fixing-prices-11540391">for</a> “fixing prices and other trading conditions”. </p>
<p>The case relates to the practice of agents fixing the price or commission that has to be paid when players and coaches change clubs. This is also the case when players and coaches sign or renew corporate sponsorship deals. </p>
<p>The commission’s case against football agents is significant because it brings sport in line with standard rules of business, and recognises the important role that sport plays in the economy. The case relates specifically to football agents, but the principle it’s trying to assert has relevance and will apply to the actions of agencies in other sporting codes as well. </p>
<p>Applying competition law to sport will promote fairness, professionalism, efficient resource allocation and economic development. The case also brings South Africa in line with other countries and regions in the world. In <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/sports/overview_en.html">Europe</a>, for example, various sporting activities have already been subjected to the scrutiny of competition law. </p>
<h2>Threats to competition</h2>
<p>There are lots of practices in sport that are viewed as being “normal” but that should in fact be cause for concern because they may undermine the Competition Act. </p>
<p>One example are rules for sports leagues and competitions that benefit, favour or give one club – or a few clubs – an advantage over others. What’s often ignored is that sport clubs in the same league or competition are in effect in competition with each other for what is often a significant amount of prize money. </p>
<p>The competition principle could be infringed if clubs of equal status in the same association or league are deprived of the opportunity to compete – or if they’re placed in a competitive disadvantage – without a justifiable sporting or operational reason. This could amount to an exclusionary act in terms of section 8 of the Competition Act. </p>
<p>Sports clubs are also in competition with each other for corporate sponsorships. Some big clubs enjoy a significant proportion of the market share. This gives them the financial power and prestige to attract players and coaches from other clubs. </p>
<p>This power may be used in ways that amount to an abuse of dominance from a competition law perspective. The most common example of anticompetitive conduct in this context is what is known in sports circles as “taping up”. This is where top - and often wealthy clubs – secretly court players or coaches from other clubs, promising them better deals. It would amount to an abuse of dominance if this was done without first getting the consent of the club to which the player or coach is contracted. </p>
<p>Competition law also supports the view that using one’s financial strength to destabilise rivals, for example by poaching their key staff, may be <a href="http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/21908/thesis_munyai_ps.pdf?sequence=1">anticompetitive</a>. </p>
<p>Broadcasting, the holy grail of modern sports, may at times also fall foul of the Competition Act. The main areas of concern are the terms and conditions of broadcasting rights. For example, the dominance of a preferred broadcaster – and excluding rivals from the market – could be entrenched when a sports league, competition or association awards a lengthy and generally exclusive broadcasting contract to a dominant player.</p>
<p>Ticketing for sport games could also be another problem area. A dominant ticketing company could be using its power to persuade or force associations or clubs to enter into exclusive ticketing agreements with it. This may raise competition concerns because it excludes rivals, or limits their ability to sell tickets.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>There is wide recognition that sport has transformed itself from a social activity into an economic activity with potential to spur economic development. Stakeholders involved in sport may soon need to realign their rules, policies and practices to ensure compliance with the provisions of South Africa’s Competition Act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phumudzo S. Munyai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The business of sport in South Africa is coming under the focus of the Competition Commission on concerns that some practices may be uncompetitive.Phumudzo S. Munyai, Senior Lecturer: Competition Law, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/842522017-11-01T10:15:38Z2017-11-01T10:15:38ZReal security requires strong encryption – even if investigators get blocked<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188031/original/file-20170928-22252-19cxghn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What's the best way to keep data secure?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vintage-encryption-data-security-concept-hands-624395702">Victor Moussa/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have been <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/353858-deputy-ag-rosenstein-raises-alarm-over-warrant-proof-encryption">fighting against</a> easy, widespread public access to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-attorney-general-rod-j-rosenstein-delivers-remarks-encryption-united-states-naval">encryption technologies</a> <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2016/04/19/a-brief-history-of-u-s-encryption-policy/">for 25 years</a>. Since the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/03/technology/apple-iphone-fbi-fight-explained.html">bureau’s dispute with Apple in 2016</a> over <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/apple-vs-fbi-25241">access to the encrypted iPhone</a> of one of the two people who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/us/san-bernardino-shooting.html">shot 14 victims in San Bernardino, California</a>, this battle has become <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-americans-split-on-unlocking-san-bernardino-shooters-iphone/">more pitched</a>. </p>
<p>This dispute is not about whether regular people can or should use encryption: The U.S. government is in favor of <a href="https://www.cio.gov/2017/01/19/automatic-https-enforcement-new-executive-branch-gov-domains/">using encryption</a> to secure data. Rather, it’s about the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603534/the-next-big-encryption-fight/">FBI’s demand</a> that encryption systems include “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/18/opinions/bellovin-encryption-debate/index.html">exceptional access</a>,” enabling police who get a warrant to <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2014/10/16/watch-fbi-director-james-comey-on-technology-law-enforcement-and-going-dark/">circumvent the encryption</a> on a device or on an encrypted call. </p>
<p>Nearly every element of American society is a potential target for sophisticated hackers. That makes the conflict complicated; giving law enforcement officers a way into secure systems makes <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cybersecurity/article/1/1/69/2367066/Keys-under-doormats-mandating-insecurity-by">breaking in easier for others as well</a>. In 2016, I <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Landau-Written-Testimony.pdf">testified before Congress</a> in support of Apple and against the FBI position; and as I explain in my forthcoming book, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300227444/listening">Listening In: Cybersecurity in an Insecure Age</a>,” the FBI’s stance would make people, and society, less secure, not more so.</p>
<h2>A new battle in an old war</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=690&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187652/original/file-20170926-10403-1mrrry9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">An export-restricted encryption algorithm was printed on a T-shirt as a form of protest in the 1990s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMunitions_T-shirt_(front).jpg">Adam Back</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, the American public is engaged in the second round of what have been called the “<a href="http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/1/worthington.php">encryption wars</a>.” During the 1990s, the U.S. had restrictions on encryption software and algorithms, allowing their use within the country, but preventing them from being exported to other countries. As a result, U.S. software companies faced a choice between creating two versions of every program – a strong system for U.S. customers and a weak system for everyone else – or providing only the weak version. Most chose the latter. That limited the availability of encryption software in the U.S., so export control worked well for both the NSA’s intelligence gatherers and the FBI’s investigators.</p>
<p>But in 2000, the two agencies’ interests split. The <a href="http://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/ciodesrefvolone.pdf">Clinger-Cohen Act</a> required the U.S. Department of Defense to buy commercially available communications and computer equipment – and the agency wanted encryption built in. To boost the strength of cryptography in the marketplace, the NSA supported loosening the export controls.</p>
<p>This was a time when NSA itself was facing a new reality. Encrypted communications had become the norm in government work – and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/12/06/the-intelligence-gap">not just for technologically sophisticated nations</a>. NSA adapted. Details are shrouded in secrecy, but we know that just like hackers, <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/catalog-reveals-nsa-has-back-doors-for-numerous-devices-a-940994.html">NSA takes advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities</a> to break in to targets. NSA also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-document-metadata-2016-12">relies heavily on communications metadata</a>, the when, where, how long – and sometimes who – of a communication. And NSA apparently uses stealthy techniques, such as <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/">intercepting communication equipment</a> while being shipped, to install eavesdropping tools. The result? Despite widespread use of encryption by its targets, NSA is largely able to obtain the information it seeks.</p>
<h2>Adapting to an encrypted world</h2>
<p>Today, the FBI is facing a similar situation to the NSA’s two decades ago. Consumer products and apps like WhatsApp <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/07/secret-conversations-end-end-encryption-facebook-messenger-arrived/">regularly use strong encryption</a> to protect communications and devices. And sometimes that prevents investigators from viewing potential evidence – as it did in San Bernardino, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/21/fbi-apple-court-hearing-postpone-unlock-terrorist-iphone">for a time</a>. The bureau can keep fighting the battle to weaken encryption, which it has been losing for decades, or it can <a href="https://theconversation.com/bypassing-encryption-lawful-hacking-is-the-next-frontier-of-law-enforcement-technology-74122">follow the NSA’s lead</a> and adapt.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/FBI-couldn-t-access-nearly-7K-devices-because-of-12297546.php">Police without a back door</a> into encryption systems have several options. Since at least the early 2000s, the FBI has been getting <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/technology/fbi-tried-to-defeat-encryption-10-years-ago-files-show.html">court orders letting agents hack into criminals’ computer and communication systems</a> to install recording and surveillance software. But that’s not the only possibility for investigators.</p>
<p>Other kinds of nonencrypted data may provide valuable information that can serve as an alternative, and computer systems can be enormously helpful in finding and analyzing that data. In the wake of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, investigators had to wade through paper copies of phone company records to discover who talked to whom when, and from there draw connections between members of the bombing conspiracy. Modern software – and digital phone, financial and other records available with a warrant – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd2fZZhxuzQ">can make that analysis immeasurably faster</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nd2fZZhxuzQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald explains how technology assists criminal investigators.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The “internet of things” provides another potential treasure trove for investigators: In one instance, for example, the history of a person’s heart rate as measured by his data-collecting pacemaker led to his <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/02/07/pacemaker-arson-charges/">indictment for arson</a> when his story of his actions during the fire didn’t hold up. In another case, a woman’s activity level, as tracked by her Fitbit, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/25/us/fitbit-womans-death-investigation-trnd/index.html">contradicted her husband’s account</a> of her death – and led to murder charges against him.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-costs-of-cheap-surveillance-67763">Following suspects</a> is a third area where technology really helps police: Using a team of trackers cost approximately US$275 an hour – but tracking a suspect’s phone as it travels <a href="http://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/tiny-constables-and-the-cost-of-surveillance-making-cents-out-of-united-states-v-jones">drops the price to $5.21 an hour</a>. </p>
<p>Such technological advances aren’t used as easily by state and local investigators, who conduct <a href="http://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/wiretap-report-2016">more than half of law enforcement wiretaps</a> in the U.S. Sometimes state and local police are stymied by relatively simple issues, such as the <a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/_files/hearings/printers/112th/112-59_64581.pdf">wide variety of phones, internet providers and data formats</a>. In 2013, the FBI stepped up to help, creating training programs through its <a href="https://ndcac.fbi.gov/">National Domestic Communications Assistance Center</a> to help police gather digital evidence without needing to break encryption.</p>
<p>Even as these varied investigatory techniques will help, sometimes encryption will simply prevent investigators from getting the goods – or getting them quickly enough to prevent a crime. But law enforcement has <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/10/deputy-attorney-general-rosensteins-responsible-encryption-demand-bad-and-he">always had to deal</a> with <a href="https://gizmodo.com/in-1851-a-man-picked-two-unpickable-locks-and-changed-1698557792">blocks to obtaining evidence</a>; <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exclusionary_rule">the exclusionary rule</a>, for example, means that <a href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/367/643.html">evidence collected in violation of a citizen’s constitutional protections is often inadmissible in court</a>. </p>
<h2>Facing new threats</h2>
<p>The importance of strong cryptography in protecting people’s privacy has become clearer in recent years. Attackers are more sophisticated – as shown in the 2015 <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf">Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee</a> emails and the 2017 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/business/equifax-cyberattack.html">Equifax data breach</a>, among others. And any groups “viewed as likely to shape future U.S. policies” were <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf">targets of Russian hacking efforts</a>, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That could include almost any organization – activist groups, church associations, community foundations, professional societies, nongovernmental organizations and more – that forms the underpinning of democratic societies. </p>
<p>This broad threat to fundamental parts of American society poses a serious danger to national security as well as individual privacy. Increasingly, a number of former senior law enforcement and national security officials have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-need-for-ubiquitous-data-encryption/2015/07/28/3d145952-324e-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html">come out strongly in support of end-to-end encryption</a> and strong device protection (much like the kind <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/gen-michael-hayden-on-apple-the-fbi-and-data-encryption/">Apple has been developing</a>), which can protect against hacking and other data theft incidents.</p>
<p>As technology changes, the jobs of police and intelligence workers must also change; in some ways, it will be harder, in others, easier. But the basic need for security supports the call for wide use of strong encryption – and without modifications that make it easy for Russians, or others, to break in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Landau has a research grant from Google. In the past she has received funding from NSF.
She participates in a Berkman Center group that periodically publishes whitepapers on security and privacy issues related to the Internet. </span></em></p>The FBI and police officials say they need to decrypt secure communications to fight crime. But they have other options, and modern threats make clear the importance of strong encryption.Susan Landau, Professor of Computer Science, Law and Diplomacy and Cybersecurity, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/840992017-10-11T14:44:20Z2017-10-11T14:44:20ZSouth Africa’s competition body is being distracted by market inquiries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188812/original/file-20171004-30164-1698bpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s become common for South African politicians to <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/collusion-case-strengthens-zumas-hand-in-battle-with-banks-20170216">blame</a> slow economic growth in the country on private sector corruption, anti-competitive market structures and abuse of market power by dominant firms. </p>
<p>Although this is sometimes simply a cover for the government’s own poor performance, the fact is that historically South Africa’s economy has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-must-tackle-dominant-firms-to-achieve-better-wealth-distribution-68759">deeply anti-competitive</a>. Private sector players have a strong leaning towards anti-competitive conduct. The task of fixing the fault lines rests with the Competition Commission.</p>
<p>The principal way the Commission meets its mandate is through investigating and prosecuting cases of suspected anti-competitive conduct brought by complainants or initiated of its own accord. The other way it can fight anti-competitive behaviour is by launching a <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/public-passenger-transport-market-inquiry/#">market inquiry</a>. This is a formal investigation into the general state of competition in a particular sector. </p>
<p>Industries that have faced market inquiries include <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/banking-enquiry/">banking</a>, <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/healthcare-inquiry/">healthcare</a>, the <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/retail-market-inquiry/">retail</a> grocery sector, <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/public-passenger-transport-market-inquiry/">transport</a> and the market for data in the <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/data-market-inquiry/">telecommunication</a> sector. Market inquiries are meant to complement the core functions of the Commission, which is to investigate and prosecute instances of anti-competitive conduct. While these procedures are reactive in nature, market enquiries by contrast are seen to represent a more proactive approach in competition law enforcement.</p>
<p>But market enquiries may also prove to be a <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Banking-Enquiry-Griffiths-Gumbie.pdf">burden</a> on the Commission. And I believe that they’re distracting it from its core function of busting clear or promising cases of anti-competitive conduct. </p>
<h2>Strengths and weaknesses</h2>
<p>The advantage of market inquiries is that they’re a proactive weapon in the Commission’s arsenal against industry-wide anti-competitive practices.</p>
<p>Importantly, they provide the Commission with information and insights into the dynamics and workings of particular industries. And the Commission can use information gleaned through an inquiry to determine appropriate enforcement action and policy intervention. Market inquiries can also shake up industries and force incumbents to stop anti-competitive behaviour.</p>
<p>But enquiries also have their weaknesses.</p>
<p>The Commission is unable during market inquiries to use its powers to enter and search premises and take possession of things and information it can use as evidence against implicated firms. As such market inquiries rely on the goodwill of respondents who must answer questions fully and honestly. In reality, this doesn’t always happen. And experience shows that the offence of perjury (lying under oath) hasn’t been enough of a deterrent to stop people from lying, or telling half-truths to the Commission.</p>
<p>On top of this, the fear of personal criminal liability as a result of the cartel offence is a disincentive for directors of companies to tell the truth when they’re called upon to provide evidence in market inquiries. This means in order for their outcomes to be credible, market inquires depend largely on the cooperation of affected firms and industries. This is not always feasible. </p>
<h2>General enquiries</h2>
<p>Another issue is that market inquiries are only general inquiries into the state of competition in a particular market. They are not investigations into the conduct of individual companies. Because of this, the findings of a market inquiry - even when they go against particular companies - don’t automatically constitute a legal finding of wrongdoing against an individual firm. </p>
<p>This means any firm implicated by a market inquiry doesn’t face any immediate consequences. For action to be taken against any firm implicated, the Commission must initiate a fresh and specific investigation or complaint against it. This raises the question: what then is the role of market inquiries? Is it just information gathering? If so, are there no efficient ways of doing so? </p>
<p>There is also little evidence that market inquiries do improve competitiveness. This is because even when measures more aggressive than market inquiries have been taken, for example record breaking fines being imposed against some firms, anti-competitive behaviour hasn’t stopped in many sectors. </p>
<p>In fact, in some industries it has increased. For example, the 2006 Competition Commission <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/banking-enquiry/">inquiry into the banking sector</a> did not foster a culture of competition in that sector. <a href="http://www.compcom.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Banking-Enquiry-Griffiths-Gumbie.pdf">Research</a> conducted to assess the impact of the Commission’s banking inquiry shows that the inquiry didn’t result in any appreciable consumer benefits, particularly lower banking fees as a result of increased competition. And a number of banks are currently being <a href="https://probonomatters.co.za/2017/02/south-africa-prosecutes-banks-for-price-fixing-in-the-trading-of-the-rand/">prosecuted</a> for price fixing. </p>
<p>Another shortcoming is the time it takes to complete a market inquiry. Because market inquiries cover entire sectors, they are lengthy processes. This has the potential of weakening subsequent competition investigations or complaints against particular firms. This is because any firm implicated in a market inquiry has time to get rid of evidence that might prove their involvement in anti-competitive practices. </p>
<p>And lastly, market inquiries are a drain on the resources of the Commission. They cost a lot of money, require the appointment of people with expertise in a targeted industry, and absorb Commission staff who might otherwise be able to pay more attention to its core work. </p>
<h2>Alternatives</h2>
<p>Of course, market inquiries attracts good publicity and public sympathy for the work of the Commission. But the interests of South Africans would be served better if the Commission focused on its core mandate - the investigation and prosecution of clear cases of suspected anti-competitive behaviour, regardless of industry in which they occur. The Commission’s limited resources should be channelled towards fulfilling this important goal. </p>
<p>To enable this to happen, market inquiries should be done by state departments or regulatory authorities in affected industries. A precedent exists for this: the 2004 banking enquiry commissioned by the South African National Treasury and Reserve Bank.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84099/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phumudzo S. Munyai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa’s Competition Commission may be wasting resources in undertaking market inquiries as they are expensive and yield little results.Phumudzo S. Munyai, Senior Lecturer: Competition Law, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/845402017-09-27T17:04:38Z2017-09-27T17:04:38ZWhat the South African KPMG saga says about shareholder activism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187763/original/file-20170927-24149-ko2oer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">KPMG South Africa stands accused of advancing state capture and has come under immense pressure.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Isabelle OHara/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Accounting and consulting firm, KPMG South Africa, is <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-09-11-op-ed-the-kpmg-failure-ethical-test-for-sa-business-and-company-directors/#.Wbjzr7Kg_IU">reeling</a> after it was exposed to have played a part in the <a href="https://www.enca.com/coverage/gupta-high-flyers">Gupta inspired</a> state capture activity. The <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/kpmg-bleeds-clients-20170924-3">fallout</a> has been remarkable. Some major firms have fired KPMG as an auditor and more Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies are expected to follow suit.</p>
<p>KPMG offers tax, advisory and auditing services and is one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Despite their integration into the economy, all four of these audit firms have experienced significant <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2017-09-26-conjuring-fears-of-systemic-risk-from-kpmg-disgrace-delays-the-remedy/">lapses of judgement</a>.</p>
<p>The KPMG case provides a potential example of how shareholders can attack the soft underbelly of the private sector state capture enablers. Globally, the number of <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/shareholder-activism-business-response-explainer/">shareholder challenges</a> has increased dramatically from 520 episodes in 2013 to 758 in 2016. Around <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/corporate-development-hardware-software-shareholder-activism-silicon-valley/">two thirds</a> of these challenges were successful, double the rate of just a decade ago.</p>
<p>South Africa’s shareholder activism is following international trends. This is partly function of the fact that that <a href="https://theconversation.com/white-monopoly-capital-an-excuse-to-avoid-south-africas-real-problems-75143">over 50%</a> of the market capitalisation of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is owned by foreigners. </p>
<p>Shareholder activists are using their powers as company owners to examine company financial reports, monitor executive remuneration, enforce good corporate governance, and push for increased sustainability and transparency.</p>
<p>KPMG has a <a href="http://www.biznews.com/global-investing/2017/08/10/kpmg-gupta-state-capture/">client base</a> of about 70 listed companies in South Africa. This means that pressure from shareholder activists is likely to pile up. <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/sasfin-drops-kpmg-after-18-years-over-gupta-and-sars-saga-20170919">Some companies</a> have already cancelled their use of KPMG services and others have stated that they are reconsidering their relationship. But most of <a href="https://citizen.co.za/business/1660727/jse-listed-companies-are-divided-on-kpmg-relationship/">KPMG’s clients</a> have either remained silent. Others said they’re waiting for the outcome of reviews by the country’s regulator, the Board for Auditors, as well as KPMG International.</p>
<p>The directors of companies that have chosen not to take a stand fail to realise one critical thing. In a world of shareholder activism, they may soon face serious questions from their own shareholders about their inaction and ongoing association with KPMG. </p>
<h2>Key drivers</h2>
<p>A key driver of shareholder activism in South Africa has been the introduction of minorities’ rights in the <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/new-act-expected-to-heighten-shareholder-activism-816251">new Companies Act</a>.</p>
<p>Minority shareholders with as little as 10% holdings can call an annual general meeting. This means that it’s become easier for shareholders to take legal action against directors and officers, including having directors removed.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.iodsa.co.za/?page=KingIV">King codes</a> of corporate governance have also played a significant role. They emphasise ethical leadership, sustainability and good corporate citizenship. </p>
<p>The codes have entrenched the idea that boards of directors must act in the best interests of the company and that their responsibilities extend to shareholders and other stakeholders. Companies are expected to establish sound governance structures, create “an ethical culture” and ensure that they’re “seen to be a responsible corporate citizen”.</p>
<p>A key factor underpinning these governance principles is the creation of more transparency. By putting more information in the hands of shareholders and the public, these measures create greater potential to hold boards to account for behaviour that fails to meet minimum standards.</p>
<h2>KPMG’s Complicity</h2>
<p>Alongside other names such as consultants McKinsey, the IT giant SAP, heavy machinery manufacturer Liebherr, and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, KPMG has been implicated in alleged <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-09-11-op-ed-the-kpmg-failure-ethical-test-for-sa-business-and-company-directors/#.Wbjzr7Kg_IU">large-scale corruption</a> involving the Gupta family. The firm stands accused of:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>allegedly overlooking numerous conflicts of interest while auditing 36 Gupta-linked companies until dumping the Guptas in 2016 by<a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/gupta-owned-oakbay-finds-new-auditors-20160421">withdrawing</a> their auditing services. A local auditing firm, SizweNtsalubaGobodo, replaced KPMG but seems to have also felt the pressure and has <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/another-auditing-firm-drops-oakbay-resources">withdrawn</a> its services.</p></li>
<li><p>allegedly providing tax advice to ensure that the public funds extracted from the South African fiscus were placed in Dubai to avoid tax payments. KPMG may have thus also become a possible <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa-needs-to-develop-new-ways-of-stemming-illicit-financial-flows-58892">enabler</a> of illicit capital flows in the process. </p></li>
<li><p>compiling a report for South African Revenue Services about an alleged <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/09/15/how-kpmgs-rogue-unit-report-was-ludicrous-from-the-beginning_a_23210784/">rogue spy unit</a> within the tax authority. The report was used as part of a campaign against former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, and other senior government officials. By its own <a href="http://ewn.co.za/2017/09/15/kpmg-withdraws-sars-spy-unit-report-s-findings">admission</a>, KPMG appears to have ignored both sector-wide best practice as well as its own standards of due diligence. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>On a wider scale, KPMG seems to have given little consideration to the risks and damage that its activities would do to South Africa’s institutional integrity and governance frameworks.</p>
<p>Pressure has been gathering. Eight senior executives of the South African office, including the CEO, Trevor Hoole, have <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-09-15-heads-roll-at-kpmg-trevor-hoole-and-nine-others-out">resigned</a>. The firm has withdrawn all of its findings‚ recommendations and conclusions contained in the notorious “rogue unit” report. It has also instituted an international <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/business/2017-09-10-kpmg-review-of-work-done-for-guptas-to-be-completed-by-end-of-month/">review</a> of all work done for the Gupta family. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely that these actions will be enough to forestall litigation and possible collapse of KPMG South Africa.</p>
<h2>Shareholder Tinderbox</h2>
<p>Shareholder activism in South Africa has <a href="http://scholar.ufs.ac.za:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11660/1251/LekhesaMW.pdf?sequence=1">historically</a> mostly been between institutional investors or individual activists and investee companies. But this may well begin to change. Mounting <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/rdm/politics/2017-09-01-the-hawks-where-state-capture-evidence-goes-to-die/">frustration</a> at the slow pace of investigations into allegations of state capture by state institutions such as the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority is forcing investors to become more active. Shareholders could start directing their attention to fighting corruption through the private sector.</p>
<p>But are South African shareholders prepared to step up to ensure good governance in the face of governance failures elsewhere in the system? There’s a great deal to lose if they don’t. </p>
<p>If shareholders don’t take a proactive role, South Africa is in far more danger than simply losing its top spot on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-competitiveness-report-2016-2017-1">Report</a> for auditing and reporting standards.</p>
<p>Once trust is lost in both the public and private sectors’ ability to root out or prevent corruption, the country could see <a href="http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/511/151512.html">further capital flight</a>, greater tax avoidance, and a more pervasive sense that the rule of law is negotiable. </p>
<p>As revelations of systemic failures in governance pile up, the economy may very well depend on shareholders taking up the burden of providing the necessary levels of accountability. KPMG may be teaching South Africa an important lesson. Shareholders can also be anti-corruption activists. Anyone who is connected to the South African economy, must dearly hope that shareholders are up to the task.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Gossel receives funding from the University of Cape Town.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy London works for the Allan Gray Centre for Values Based Leadership which receives funding from the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. The Centre is a part of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.</span></em></p>KPMG South Africa sets a potential example of how shareholders can attack the soft underbelly of private sector state capture enablers.Sean Gossel, Senior Lecturer, UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownTimothy London, Senior Lecturer, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/842792017-09-19T17:57:29Z2017-09-19T17:57:29ZWhat KPMG’s Gupta imbroglio says about corruption in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186581/original/file-20170919-25319-1uqvawo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As far as corporate accountability goes, the recent announcement that the CEO and seven senior executives at auditing and consultancy firm KMPG in South Africa <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Financial-Services/kpmg-sa-ceo-7-others-quit-on-guptaleaks-fallout-20170915">have resigned</a> is a welcome development.</p>
<p>By resigning, the KPMG executives reinforced the principle of executive responsibility. This is a matter not taken seriously in South African culture, particularly when it comes to the public sector. The usual pattern when misdemeanours are uncovered is for government ministers and other senior executives to blame their staff – or someone else – when things go wrong. </p>
<p>At this level the action of the KPMG executives is to be respected. The hope must be that this behaviour becomes an example for others.</p>
<p>KPMG executives have set a new South African benchmark: executives assuming responsibility for wrongdoing in their organisations. South Africans should thank the firm for setting a new standard with this decisive action. Its executives have taken oversight responsibility for the action of others.</p>
<p>The role that companies such as KPMG plays is particularly crucial because auditor firms and consultancies are meant to hold companies and state entities to account by ensuring transparency and honesty. The fact that a firm of KPMG’s standing should be embroiled in a matter as murky as compiling false reports to serve the political ends of particular politicians highlights the degree of corruption that has taken hold in South Africa.</p>
<p>In light of this, are KPMG’s actions enough? I believe not. To pull South Africa back from the brink, the auditing firm should opt for full disclosure of all its involvement with the Gupta family as well as the companies they own. This should, inter alia, include all working papers, correspondence and audit findings. This would allow public scrutiny of the work it claims to have done under the banner of professionalism and provide the opportunity for a deeper understanding of the Gupta network. Nothing short of this will clear KPMG’s name. </p>
<h2>From state capture to country capture</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that KPMG’s report on a rogue unit completed for the South African Revenue Service has <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/kpmg-report-on-rogue-unit-has-tarnished-sars-future-sa-11241403">damaged South Africa’s image</a>. But it has done more than that and raises the question whether South Africa suffers only state capture, or whether the rot is growing into economic capture of the whole country, what I term “country capture”.</p>
<p>The basis for asking this question is that the South African economy – and as a result its citizens – are paying a heavy cost for the mismanagement of the country’s resources. This has been through a combination of bad and neglectful management and out-and-out corruption. All this for the account of South African taxpayers.</p>
<p>South Africa’s fiscal position is precarious, with a revenue shortfall of more than <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/economy/2017-08-21-downgrade-alarm-as-revenue-shortfall-could-hit-r50bn/">R50 billion</a> expected in the fiscal year to 31 March 2018. This growing shortfall is driven by subdued economic performance and will continue until the domestic economic growth recovers.</p>
<p>The shortfall is directly linked to low economic growth and recessionary conditions. These in turn have been caused by state capture. The private sector is reluctant to invest in the midst of corruption. This means that there is no new economic activity being started, a particularly bad situation given that industries such as mining are shrinking. This week Implats <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Mining/">announced</a> it was in negotiations with unions to lay off 2 500 workers. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lesser-known-and-scarier-facts-about-unemployment-in-south-africa-83055">Unemployment</a> is already at 27.7%.</p>
<p>Individual South African taxpayers are therefore being forced to bail out the government as it faces fiscal difficulties, placing the country on the slippery slope of country capture. This is reflected in the fact that government’s final consumption <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS?locations=ZA">expenditure</a> as percentage of GDP currently exceeds 20%. </p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Having ended up in this precarious position, it’s necessary to consider the way forward for KPMG and for South Africa. </p>
<p>KPMG clearly wants to save itself as a company and South Africa wants to rid itself of state/country capture. In redeeming itself, the firm can render a great service to South Africa in the quest to break the stranglehold. KPMG should disclose all dealings, findings, work papers, interactions and the like with the Gupta family businesses. This would achieve two objectives.</p>
<p>Firstly, it would show who is implicated and who is not. KPMG stated that there was no wrongdoing on its side in <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-14-kpmg-denies-any-dodgy-dealings-in-controversial-gupta-coal-deal/">audits it did on companies owned by the Guptas</a>. But this can only be settled through full disclosure.</p>
<p>Secondly, such a disclosure would help to reveal the full scope of state/country capture in South Africa. </p>
<p>Naturally KPMG’s dealings with the Gupta companies and Gupta family are subject to client confidentiality agreements. KPMG should therefore inform the Gupta family of its intention to publish within seven days. If the Guptas object in writing KPMG should approach the courts with a request to issue a clarification order to authorise disclosure.</p>
<p>This is the only way in which KPMG can salvage what’s left of its reputation in South Africa. KPMG should stand for: “Keep Pushing Mighty Guptas”.</p>
<p>At the same time South Africans would be able to use the disclosures as the basis for beginning to understand the full extent of state/country capture and the remedial steps necessary to turn this around.</p>
<p>Here is a small opportunity to make progress towards some light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. The opportunity rests in the hands of KPMG. South Africa waits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84279/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jannie Rossouw is a C3 NRF-rated researcher and receives grant funding from the NRF. </span></em></p>KPMG South Africa executives have set a new benchmark for the country assuming responsibility for wrongdoing in their organisation.Jannie Rossouw, Head of School of Economic & Business Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/795372017-06-23T01:15:19Z2017-06-23T01:15:19ZWhat happens if Trump’s White House invokes executive privilege?<p>Donald Trump’s presidency has been defined by a central theme: Trump’s belief that ordinary rules and laws do not apply to him.</p>
<p>Trump has made clear that he believes it is up to his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-james-mattis-override-torture-2017-1">personal discretion</a> to order torture – even though torture is <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2008/05/06/under-u-s-law-torture-is-always-illegal/">illegal under all circumstances</a>. In ordering a <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/04/07/syria-attack-legal-only-congress-can-say-column/100163700/">military strike against Syria</a> in April, Trump brushed aside constitutional requirements that Congress approve such action unless the U.S. faces imminent attack. And he has defended his presidency by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brianne-j-gorod/can-courts-hold-trump-accountable_b_13306772.html">falsely claiming</a> that the <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-new-boast-the-president-cant-have-conflict-interest">president is incapable of having conflicts of interest</a>.</p>
<p>I have argued in the past that Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama showed there is reason to be concerned about post-9/11 presidents testing the <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chris-edelson/power-without-constraint/">legal limits of their power</a>. The stakes are even higher now with Trump. He has demonstrated <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opinion/sunday/is-donald-trump-a-threat-to-democracy.html">authoritarian tendencies</a> and <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-kleptocracy-could-be-turning-the-us-into-a-banana-republic-2017-05-03">contempt for the rule of law</a> that goes beyond anything Bush or Obama did. </p>
<p>The issue may be coming to a head with investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice. As the nation has watched witnesses appear before congressional committees and read Trump’s tweets about Department of Justice officials, the key question to ask now is whether Trump <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-very-very-dangerous-situation">will refuse</a> to let any investigation continue. If he does so successfully, Trump will effectively place himself <a href="https://lawfareblog.com/disabled-executive-special-counsel-investigation-and-presidential-immunities">beyond the reach of the law</a>.</p>
<h2>The rule of law</h2>
<p>The various ongoing investigations are all, in theory, governed by legal rules. <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3726385-Order-3915-2017-Special-Counsel.html#document/p1">Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s task</a> is to speak to witnesses, review documents, gather evidence and decide whether there is any basis for prosecution under federal law. Congressional committees, meanwhile, hear from witnesses who testify under penalty of perjury if they lie under oath. </p>
<p>But such legal rules are not self-enforcing. When the rules are violated or flouted, someone has to act in order to give them force and meaning.</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee is a case in point. Sessions refused to answer a number of questions about communications he’d had with the president. By itself, that is not extraordinary. If the communications were protected by executive privilege or involved classified information involving national security matters, there may have been a legitimate basis for Sessions to decline to answer senators’ questions. After all, the Supreme Court has recognized that <a href="http://markrozell.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Presidents_Executive_Privilege_Rozell_and_Sollenberger.pdf">the Constitution implicitly allows</a> the president to invoke executive privilege in some circumstances in order to protect the confidentiality of discussions with close advisers in the executive branch. </p>
<p>But Sessions, the top lawyer for the U.S. government, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/06/14/trump-sessions-and-the-executive-privilege-paradox-did-the-president-leave-his-most-loyal-follower-out-to-dry/">did not point to any legal grounds</a> for his refusal to respond. He simply said he <a href="http://www.salon.com/2017/06/14/trump-sessions-and-the-executive-privilege-paradox-did-the-president-leave-his-most-loyal-follower-out-to-dry/">could not speak about private conversations</a> he’d had with the president, and that he was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-executive-privilege-jeff-sessions-testimony-2017-6">protecting Trump’s ability to claim executive privilege</a>, if he later decided to do so.</p>
<p>Sessions was not the first. A week earlier, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/06/07/outrageous-contempt-of-congress/?utm_term=.c4864e548194">Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats similarly declined</a> to answer questions involving conversations he’d had with the president. Like Sessions, Coats did not invoke privilege, conceding that he <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-06-07/lawmakers-challenge-officials-refusal-to-talk-trump-comey">wasn’t sure there was any legal basis</a> he could rely on.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-executive-privilege-jeff-sessions-testimony-2017-6">Sen. Martin Heinrich noted</a> during the hearing, that’s not the way executive privilege is supposed to work. If the administration wants to invoke the privilege, it must do so expressly. In that case, the matter would be worked out either in <a href="http://www.libertylawsite.org/2012/07/12/the-constitution-and-executive-privilege/">negotiations between the executive and legislative branches</a> or (less frequently) through review by the federal courts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175228/original/file-20170622-12015-jfc8rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former President Richard Nixon points to the transcripts of the White House tapes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most famous example of a court weighing in on executive privilege was the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/418/683">Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in U.S. v. Nixon</a>. President Richard Nixon’s administration refused to hand over Oval Office tapes, claiming recorded conversations were protected by executive privilege, as defined by the president. The court rejected this view, observing that constitutional separation of powers depends on checks and balances that prevent any one branch from self-policing. The court found, in this case, the need for checks on power outweighed the executive branch’s interest in keeping discussions confidential. With the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/06/16/the-missing-18-12-minutes-presidential-destruction-of-incriminating-evidence/?utm_term=.98bae4cd1030">specter of impeachment looming over him</a>, Nixon was forced to hand over the tapes. He resigned from office a few weeks later.</p>
<p>At the close of Sessions’ testimony, Sen. Richard Burr <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/13/full-text-jeff-session-trump-russia-testimony-239503">instructed Sessions</a> to “work with the White House to see if there are any areas of questions that they feel comfortable with you answering…” That’s not good enough: If the legislative branch is to enforce the rule of law, witnesses must be compelled to answer legitimate questions under oath. </p>
<h2>Will Congress act?</h2>
<p>Special Counsel Mueller may be investigating the president to determine whether his actions amount to <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-sessions-and-trump-conspire-to-obstruct-justice-79388">an obstruction of justice</a>. Trump has already fired former FBI Director James Comey, and <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/if-trump-fires-mueller-or-orders-his-firing">there is speculation</a> that he might also fire Special Counsel Mueller in an effort to bring the investigation to a close. Sen. Ron Wyden has warned that, if Trump fires Mueller, it would be an <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidWright_CNN/status/876813652183187456">attack on the rule of law</a> itself. The onus would fall squarely on Congress to <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/143293/trump-fires-robert-mueller-impeached">either initiate impeachment proceedings</a> or else acquiesce in a presidential power grab.</p>
<p>As Sen. Heinrich noted, when witnesses refuse to answer questions but fail to provide any sufficient legal reason for doing so, they are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-executive-privilege-jeff-sessions-testimony-2017-6">obstructing investigation</a> – preventing Congress from carrying out its inquiry. If other senators agreed, they <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/6/14/15796078/jeff-sessions-testimony-russia-donald-trump-comey-fbi">could vote to cite the witness(es) for contempt</a>, which could lead to criminal prosecution.</p>
<p>Congress could also threaten to hold up Trump’s nominations to key positions such as federal court judges, or refuse to move on the administration’s legislative priorities like tax cuts for high earners (it <a href="http://markrozell.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Presidents_Executive_Privilege_Rozell_and_Sollenberger.pdf">took some similar actions</a> in response to Nixon). Congress could even begin impeachment proceedings if it decided presidential misconduct rose to the constitutional level of “high crimes and misdemeanors” – for instance, if Mueller’s investigation concluded that there is evidence to support this conclusion.</p>
<p>Of course, since Republicans are members of the same party as the president, none of this is likely – yet. But if Trump administration officials continue to make investigation difficult, and if Trump escalates an already tense situation by continuing to question Mueller’s legitimacy or even by firing the special counsel, Republicans may face <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-very-very-dangerous-situation">a crucial test on behalf of American constitutional democracy</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Edelson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Laws that limit presidential power won’t enforce themselves – Congress must act.Chris Edelson, Assistant Professor of Government, American University School of Public AffairsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/798842017-06-22T13:19:36Z2017-06-22T13:19:36ZSouth Africa’s central bank row points to dangerous levels of intolerance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175156/original/file-20170622-11967-azarbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. The role of South Africa's central bank is at the centre of a heated debate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What kind of financial system is sure to collapse if the central bank cares about people’s well-being?</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pprotect.org/library/investigation_report/2016-17/Report%208%20of%202017&2018%20Public%20Protector%20South%20Africa.pdf">recommendation</a> by South Africa’s Public Protector that the Reserve Bank’s mandate change, says much about Busisiwe Mkhwebane, none of it flattering. It says just as much about mainstream economic debate - and none of that is flattering either.</p>
<p>Mkhwebane recommended that the central bank’s constitutional mandate, which makes protecting the currency its primary goal, be changed to one which requires it to “promote balanced and sustainable economic growth while ensuring that the socio-economic well-being of the citizens are protected”. She also said the constitution should require the bank “to achieve meaningful socio-economic transformation”. </p>
<p>This triggered a wave of protests, as well as an announcement from the <a href="https://www.resbank.co.za/Lists/News%20and%20Publications/Attachments/7852/PRESS%20RELEASE%20FOR%20SARB%20.pdf">South African Reserve Bank</a> that it would take the matter to court. The <a href="https://probonomatters.co.za/south-african-reserve-bank-says-public-protector-is-overreaching/">Reserve Bank</a> had no option. The constitutional court has ruled that the Public Protector’s findings are binding unless they are challenged in court. Her recommendation wildly exceeded what she is allowed to do by the constitution – or democratic good sense - and the Reserve Bank could not allow it to stand. </p>
<p>Democratic constitutions are changed by large majorities of the people or their elected representatives – not by individuals. By making a binding recommendation that the constitution be changed, Mkhwebane signalled that she either doesn’t understand – or does not care – for democracy. </p>
<p>Her report is also very useful to a faction of the governing party which wants to <a href="https://theconversation.com/pursuing-a-30-year-old-bailout-is-sending-south-africa-on-a-wild-goose-chase-79792">deflect charges of state capture</a> by claiming that white monopoly capital already controls the state. There are real questions about the fitness for office of a Public Protector whose report seems more interested in protecting connected politicians and business people than with taking the people’s will seriously.</p>
<p>But the reaction did not stop at insisting that Mkhwebane has no business telling the people what the constitution should say. Much of it objected not only to her saying what the Reserve Bank’s mandate should be, but to anyone at all doing that. </p>
<h2>An important debate</h2>
<p>The prize for the wildest reaction went to the commentator who declared that Mkhwebane’s ideas on the Bank’s mandate were <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-06-21-the-holocaust-denier-the-public-protector-and-the-reserve-bank">inspired</a> by someone who denied that the Nazi genocide happened. Others stopped short of tarring constitutional change with the same brush as mass murder but were united in claiming that to suggest that the Reserve Bank’s mandate be broadened is “<a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/ideas/2017-06-21-public-protectors-bizarre-instruction-harms-our-wellbeing/">economically illiterate</a>” and deeply damaging. </p>
<p>Absa, who was the subject of a separate finding by the public protector on the issue of a <a href="https://probonomatters.co.za/the-public-protector-in-her-own-words-on-the-bankorpabsa-matter/">controversial bailout</a>, asked a court to rule that her proposed change posed a “<a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/business/2017-06-21-in-full-absa-goes-to-court-over-public-protector-report/">serious risk to the financial system</a>”. For its part the rating agency Standard & Poor’s, happy as ever to police the boundaries of economic correctness, warned that any interference with the Reserve Bank’s independence could trigger new downgrades.</p>
<p>To insist that anyone who proposes changing the Reserve Bank’s mandate is economically damaging and stupid is as contemptuous of democracy and dangerous to the economy as Mkhwebane’s excess. It is undemocratic because it seeks to close down policy debate by declaring that only one view of the Reserve Bank’s mandate can ensure a healthy economy. It is dangerous because it blocks the search for economic remedies by seeking to bully even those who propose only mild changes to what the country now has.</p>
<p>The idea that the Reserve Bank should have a broader mandate is neither radical nor dangerous. The most famous central bank, the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/structure-federal-reserve-system.htm">US Federal Reserve</a>, has a broader mandate. Its dual mandate requires it to seek maximum employment as well as price stability. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.rba.gov.au/monetary-policy/">Australian</a> equivalent’s mandate includes “maintenance of full employment and economic prosperity and welfare of the people”. <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/html/index.en.html">The European Central Bank</a>, famed for its love of austerity, has a mandate to seek “sustainable growth”. </p>
<p>And the <a href="http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx">the Bank of England’s</a> website says that, subject to its goal of price stability, it aims to support the government’s economic objectives.</p>
<p>In South Africa, not only has the view that the central bank’s mandate is too restrictive been repeated periodically but it may well have been implemented for a while. In 2010, then finance minister Pravin Gordhan <a href="https://www.moneyweb.co.za/archive/pravins-letter-to-gill-marcus/">wrote</a> to then Reserve Bank governor, Gill Marcus, proposing a mandate which included growth and employment. Marcus <a href="http://m.fin24.com/fin24/Economy/Inflation-debate-not-over-20100219">reacted positively</a>, which suggests that the bank acted on Gordhan’s letter. The financial system survived.</p>
<p>The US, European and Australian financial systems have also not collapsed. Their mandates have not triggered a downgrade and no one has accused these societies of economic illiteracy. </p>
<p>So either double standards are being applied or we are being told that restrictive central bank mandates are essential only if countries are in particular parts of the world (such as Africa) and governed by particular types of people (Africans).</p>
<p>And why does a change in the Bank’s mandate undermine its independence? A central bank loses its independence if politicians (or anyone else) can tell it what to do, not if its mandate changes. </p>
<p>For all its flaws, the Public Protector’s proposal would retain the Reserve Bank’s independence, leaving it to the bank to decide what promotes the “well-being” of the people or “transformation”. </p>
<h2>Closing down debate is common</h2>
<p>None of this means that the Reserve Bank’s mandate must change. Or that central bank independence must go. But it does mean that no one should be discouraged from debating the issue, as people routinely do in other democracies and market economies. What, besides that prejudice which we prettify by the term <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/afropessimism">Afropessimism</a>, explains the insistence that we may not debate what is freely discussed in most other places?</p>
<p>Closing down debate in this way is common in South Africa. It also lies behind complaints of policy uncertainty which does not mean, as it does elsewhere, that government keeps changing its mind and sending mixed messages – the macro-economic framework has been stable for more than two decades. It means, rather, that some people – who some others may take seriously – raise policy ideas the economic mainstream does not like.</p>
<p>This demand that people can say anything they like about economic policy as long as the mainstream likes it too offers a misleading view of the economy. It says that there is nothing wrong with it except political interference and that it will flourish if politicians simply leave alone what is done now. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/business-needs-to-change-and-stop-blaming-others-for-south-africas-ills-64942">contrary evidence</a> is offered by mainstream organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the South African Reserve Bank itself which have shown that the current economic rut is a product of problems in the private economy as well as what government does. </p>
<p>This means that the economy must change. This, in turn, requires new ideas. They will not emerge unless everything is up for debate and ideas are not silenced because they trigger the fears and prejudices of a few.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Friedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A financial system that is sure to collapse if the central bank cares about people’s well-being goes against democratic principle.Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/731122017-02-17T02:00:43Z2017-02-17T02:00:43ZWith Comey gone, how can Congress investigate Russia, Trump and the 2016 election?<p>Now that James Comey has been <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/10/james-comey-fired-ousted-fbi-director-learned-was-fired-from-tv.html">fired</a> as FBI director, how will the U.S. conduct a fair and accurate investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and links with President Donald Trump’s campaign?</p>
<p>U.S. congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle are discussing options.</p>
<p>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have called for a <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/09/comey-firing-congress-reaction-238180">special prosecutor</a> to be appointed. </p>
<p>House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has called for the creation of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politics/congress-reacts-james-comey-firing/">an independent commission</a>. Justin Amash, a Republican leader of the House Freedom Caucus, said he is <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/332659-gop-lawmaker-calls-for-independent-commission-on-russia-after-comeys">considering that option</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Republican Senator John McCain has urged the formation of a <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/09/mccain-comey-firing-confirms-need-for-select-committee-to-investigate-russias-election-meddling/">select congressional committee</a>.</p>
<p>Each of these alternatives may seem reasonable, but there are key differences between them. My <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/international-relations-and-international-organisations/terrorism-and-national-security-reform-how-commissions-can-drive-change-during-crises?format=PB&isbn=9780521173070">research</a> on more than 50 government investigations reveals that independent commissions, like the one Pelosi is advocating for, are more likely than regular or select congressional committees to achieve consensus about controversial events.</p>
<p>A congressional investigation into Russian activities and ties to Trump’s advisers is likely to be riven by partisan discord. An independent commission has greater potential to generate a widely agreed-upon understanding of Russian misbehavior.</p>
<p>At a time when Congress is sharply polarized along partisan lines, congressional investigations tend to become microcosms of that polarization. This is all the more true when an investigation involves an issue about which the president is vulnerable to political embarrassment or attack.</p>
<h2>How a congressional probe might unfold</h2>
<p>The Senate Intelligence Committee, responsible for overseeing intelligence matters, is characterized by more bipartisanship than most congressional committees. It possesses a highly professional staff that works together well across party lines. Its leaders – Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner – have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/top-senate-republican-blunt-says-congress-should-probe-flynn-situation/2017/02/14/8abbcad4-f2d5-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.93d733c7494d">expressed</a> a willingness to cooperate in investigating issues related to Russia.</p>
<p>But sharp divisions are likely to emerge between Democrats and Republicans on the committee when they face decisions such as whether to require Trump campaign advisers to testify under oath, or demand that relevant records be turned over to the committee. The same goes for drawing conclusions about the motivations behind Russia’s interference, or the nature of ties between Russia and Trump’s aides. Such issues could run the risk of undermining the credibility of Trump’s election – thereby weakening the Republican Party’s hold on power.</p>
<p>This could result in the issuance of majority and minority committee reports. This happened with congressional reports in 2012 on the Central Intelligence Agency’s treatment of <a href="http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/senate-intelligence-committee-study-on-cia-detention-and-interrogation-program">detainees</a> and in 2016 on events related to the attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed four <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/benghazi-committee-releases-final-report/story?id=40171034">Americans</a>. Such competing reports would fuel the perpetuation of distinct Republican and Democratic narratives about Russia’s role in the 2016 election. </p>
<p>The same outcome would likely result from an investigation by a select congressional committee, since select committees are also composed of lawmakers from both parties.</p>
<h2>Investigations of the 9/11 attack</h2>
<p>The congressional response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack illustrates the tendency of partisanship to infect investigations into events that could call into question the president’s standing. </p>
<p>In 2002, the House and Senate intelligence committees conducted a joint investigation of matters related to the attack. This probe, known as the <a href="https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_rpt/911rept.pdf">joint inquiry</a>, uncovered important information about government lapses that made it easier for Al-Qaida operatives to enter the United States and hijack four airplanes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157229/original/image-20170216-32706-ushrt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Families of of 9/11 victims protest the handling of the investigation of the 9/11 attacks, Oct. 2002.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo, Toyokazu Kosugi</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet the joint inquiry’s substantive findings were overshadowed by partisan <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/17/politics/democrats-say-bush-must-give-full-disclosure.html">disagreements</a> over issues such as whether George W. Bush or Bill Clinton bore responsibility for the failure to prevent the attack. Some Republican members of the joint inquiry were also unwilling to support efforts to press the Bush White House for access to key witnesses and documents. The inquiry concluded with the release of a <a href="https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_rpt/911rept.pdf">majority report</a> that included separate concluding statements from nine inquiry members, some of whom expressed serious disagreement.</p>
<p>Dissatisfaction with this process led Congress and President Bush to approve a law that created the independent <a href="https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf">9/11 Commission</a> nine months after the joint inquiry had begun its work. The commission was characterized by strong bipartisanship. None of the 9/11 Commission’s members held public office during their tenure on the commission. </p>
<p>This distance from the partisan environment of Congress gave the commission’s five Republicans and five Democrats the freedom to find common ground. The result was a unanimous report that provided the definitive account of the Sept. 11 attack. However, the delay in creating the commission meant that this account and the commission’s recommendations were not published until 2004, years after the attack.</p>
<p>To be sure, some commissions also fall prey to polarization. I have <a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/international-relations-and-international-organisations/terrorism-and-national-security-reform-how-commissions-can-drive-change-during-crises?format=PB&isbn=9780521173070">found</a> that about one-third of commissions created to investigate national security issues fail to produce unanimous reports. </p>
<p>But even staunch Democrats and Republicans typically place the national interest above partisan considerations when serving on a commission. They have an incentive to do so because their own reputation is at stake.</p>
<p>To create a commission, Congress would need to approve and Trump would need to sign legislation establishing the body. For now, this outcome appears unlikely. For this reason, some Democratic leaders in Congress are focusing instead on ensuring that the intelligence committee’s investigation is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/top-senate-republican-blunt-says-congress-should-probe-flynn-situation/2017/02/14/8abbcad4-f2d5-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.d749412a1732">robust</a>.</p>
<p>But if the intelligence committee proves unable to conduct a thorough and bipartisan investigation of Russian meddling and Trump’s campaign, pressure will build on America’s leaders to establish a more independent probe. Hanging in the balance could be whether the United States can forge consensus about what happened and how to prevent it from happening again.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: An earlier version incorrectly stated the 9/11 “joint inquiry” had released one majority report and seven dissenting statements. The inquiry’s final report included separate statements from nine members of the committee, some of whom expressed serious disagreement.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Tama has received funding for this research from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.</span></em></p>Research on more than 50 government investigations reveals how partisanship can get in the way of finding answers we all agree on.Jordan Tama, Assistant Professor of International Relations, American University School of International ServiceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/696512016-12-02T11:33:06Z2016-12-02T11:33:06ZZuma’s refusal to quit puts South Africa’s economy on an even weaker footing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148134/original/image-20161130-17065-3dyygp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South African President Jacob Zuma. He has survived a bid to have him removed and might strike back.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma is in deep water. Most recently calls for him <a href="https://theconversation.com/zuma-lives-to-fight-another-day-but-fallout-from-latest-revolt-will-live-on-69587">to go</a> were debated at the National Executive Committee of his governing party, the African National Congress (ANC). This is the body that runs the party between its five-yearly elective conferences. </p>
<p>This came after the country’s former public protector’s report on <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/329757135/State-Capture-Report-2016#from_embed">state capture</a> carried allegations that Zuma may have known about the alleged abuse of his name by the Gupta family and may have actively sought to help the wealthy businessmen benefit from state procurement. He also faces <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/reinstate-charges-to-help-clear-zuma-2016365">allegations</a> of corruption – some stretching back more than a decade. And the Constitutional Court earlier this year <a href="http://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/3834/24efe59744c642a1a02360235f4d026b.pdf">found</a> that his conduct was “inconsistent” with certain sections of <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-chapter-9-state-institutions-supporting#181">the constitution</a>.</p>
<p>The fact that a bid to remove Zuma was <a href="http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1358339/zuma-faces-shock-motion-no-confidence-top-anc-leaders/">staged</a> in the NEC confirmed that there are differences of opinion within the ANC about the fate of the president. While the decision was blocked, the faction that wanted Zuma to go have made a powerful point. Things will never be the same again.</p>
<p>The ANC’s failure to remove the president or outline a plan to bring him to book suggests that the party is not serious about fostering accountability and fighting corruption even though these feature prominently in its official documents and <a href="http://www.anc.org.za/documents/Manifestos/any-author/any-year">manifestos</a>. This does not bode well for confidence in the South African political system and economy. </p>
<h2>Political economic implications</h2>
<p>The economy is the weakest link in the present situation. I believe the key focus post the NEC debate is going to be the battle over the control of the National Treasury, and secondly control over the <a href="http://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/newly-constituted-ministerial-clusters-announced">economic cluster</a>. This is a group of ministries that most acutely affect economic policies. They include the ministry of finance, trade and industry, economic development, tourism, small business development, public enterprises, public works, labour, energy and mineral resources, <a href="http://www.gov.za/faq/guide-government/what-are-government-clusters-and-which-are-they">among others</a>. </p>
<p>The first real danger is that Zuma chooses to purge ministers who were behind this week’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/zuma-lives-to-fight-another-day-but-fallout-from-latest-revolt-will-live-on-69587">bid at the NEC</a> to ask him to step down. These reportedly include Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, his deputy Mcebisi Jonas, tourism minister Derek Hanekom and public works minister Thulas Nxesi.</p>
<p>If Zuma <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/eff-this-is-what-will-happen-if-a-gupta-puppet-controls-treasury-20161129">wrests control</a> of the National Treasury, and other ministries key to the economy, fiscal policy recklessness is expected to become the order of the day. </p>
<h2>The dangers of a purge</h2>
<p>While the secretary general of the ANC Gwede Mantashe has said that the ministers who spoke against Zuma would <a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2016-11-29-mantashe-nec-affirmed-zuma-is-president-of-south-africa">not be purged</a>, succession politics and attempts to control resources may result in unilateral presidential decisions to fire ministers without consultation. In South Africa, executive authority to chop and change the cabinet is <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-chapter-5-president-and-national-executive">vested in the president</a>. As such, the president may act unilaterally without consulting his party, although the convention has been that the president first discusses cabinet positions with the ANC’s top leaders. </p>
<p>Zuma has acted unilaterally before. His decision a year ago to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-removal-of-south-africas-finance-minister-is-bad-news-for-the-country-52170">fire</a> Nhlanlha Nene as finance minister and replace him with someone who was virtually unknown shocked everyone including colleagues in the ANC. The decision, dubbed Nenegate, sent markets into a <a href="http://www.fin24.com/Economy/nenegate-shook-sa-investor-confidence-imf-20160708">tailspin</a> and Zuma was forced to backtrack.</p>
<p>The National Treasury is particularly vulnerable because so much rides on fiscal policy decisions. All cabinet positions are closely linked with control over resources. But control over the national fiscus – including budgeting and spending – is the most important because changes, or drift in fiscal policy invariably affect markets. The country should expect volatility. At best traders and investors might simply choose to remain on the sidelines. At worst the country could experience capital flight. There may also be risky speculation on the currency.</p>
<p>The question is: can anything be done? I believe so.</p>
<h2>Call to action</h2>
<p>It’s time to engage. Politicians have proved again and again that the future and stability of the country cannot be left entirely to them. The ANC has said that it does not want to “hand over its comrades to ‘<a href="http://www.enca.com/media/video/the-anc-briefs-media-on-the-outcomes-of-nec">the enemy</a>’”. This is close to defining the rest of society as its enemy. It is not clear how a governing party elected by the people on the basis of fighting corruption can trivialise as mere “negative narratives” serious allegations of misconduct and possibly corruption on the part of a president it has elected to the position on behalf of the nation. Is that not blatant abdication of responsibility?</p>
<p>South Africans need to safeguard the continuity of democratic principles. At the centre is impartiality and distribution of economic benefits on the basis of merit as well as the fundamental values of accountability and equality before the law as enshrined in the country’s constitution. </p>
<p>South Africans should not legitimise a system of “neopatrimonialism” where economic gains are linked to kinship or close relationships with rulers. It’s time for society wide renewal.</p>
<p>The real danger is that Zuma feels compelled to weaken the relative strength of the forces opposing his appointed successor in 2017. </p>
<p>As the saying goes in isiXhosa, <em>ikhwelo lityala</em> (“hearing the battle cry and remaining unresponsive is tantamount to treason”)!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ongama Mtimka chairs the board of Isidima Development Council, a non-profit company directly involved in economic transformation. </span></em></p>All eyes are on the next move from President Jacob Zuma after he survived a bid from senior ANC colleagues to remove him. The fallout is expected to be focused on the economic cluster of government.Ongama Mtimka, Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Department of Political & Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.