Popular and outspoken comedic animator Mdu Ntuli, the animator behind the Nkandla Fish and Chips commercial recently banned by the SABC, is joining forces with Corruption Watch to encourage South Africans to speak out against corruption.
The talented satirist of Mdu Comics and The Izikhokho Show, recently picked up by Comedy Central thanks to run-awayYouTube success, is interrogating topical corruption issues in a six-part YouTube series sponsored by the anti-corruption organisation. The launch of this initiative coincided with UN International Anti- Corruption Day which was on Sunday, 9 December and aims to get young people to take a stand against corruption by reporting it.
Corruption Watch provides a safe platform for all South Africans to report corruption via the Corruption Watchwebsite and its SMS hotline 45142. The monthly animated stories will feature the world’s least successful Tenderpreneur Bra Tjotjo and will be available on the Corruption Watch YouTube channel and on the Corruption Watch website from Thursday, 6 December. The first animation is appropriately titled “Something Fishy”.
Says Corruption Watch’s executive director, David Lewis, “Mdu Ntuli is one of South Africa’s most original and hard-hitting satirists and we are excited to be partnering with him on the Bra Tjotjo series. He has developed a loyal following of 2.5 million viewers on his YouTube channel thanks to fearless commentary that taps into the spirit of our country and our times. We are proud to be supporting young voices like Mdu’s that are already engaging with the negative effects that corruption will have on our future if we don’t take a stand now. This campaign aims to get as many young South Africans on our side as possible.”
Ntuli has developed a character called Bra Tjotjo for these special edition animations. Together Bra Tjo-Tjo and his silent partner, Van Deventer, are always on the look-out for the next scam, with a little inside help from a corrupt government official.
“I think South Africans will relate to the characters. They are greedy opportunists who always end up behind bars thanks to a good citizen who notices their skulduggery and reports it to Corruption Watch,” says Ntuli. “This is an old cartoon convention that we are giving some fresh legs.”
Cartoon characters have been successfully utilised in other African countries as well as in India to bring issues to life in a way that young people can relate to. But this is the first time in South Africa that an anti-corruption organisation has sponsored a talented young digital story-teller allowing them to tell their own stories in their own way.
“We have given Mdu total freedom to create his own stories and characters dealing with issues that he feels are the most important,” says Lewis.
Corruption Watch is a civil society organization that launched in January 2012. The identity of people reporting matters is kept confidential and they can also choose to remain anonymous. Corruption Watch uses the tip-offs to gather further evidence of corrupt activities and launch campaigns to highlight trends and hotspots of corruption. The organisation advocates for changes in policy and refers cases it has investigated to law enforcement agencies.
“Corruption Watch was established because the people of South Africa are fed up with corruption. Judging from the anger of the public it’s clear that there is a growing awareness that if corruption is going to be tackled then ordinary South Africans are going to have to become active participants in this struggle,” states Lewis.
Corruption Watch ‘reporters’ are also urged to offer solutions in the manner that business, government, and the public deal with corruption. Corruption Watch has received over 2800 reports from the public to date. These reports are then handled by the team consisting of lawyers, investigators, researchers, writers and data managers.
“Confronting corruption requires an active and engaged public that is willing to hold to account those who wield public power and those who control public resources, including those in the private sector who supply and often distribute those resources,” says Lewis.
Corruption Watch’s societal contribution is to amplify people’s voices and to direct them at those who must account to the public.
“Those who refuse to respond to the voices of the public will be named and shamed in exactly the same way as those who perpetrate corruption,” concludes Lewis.
FOR MORE INFO:
– Visit www.corruptionwatch.org.za
– SMS “BRIBE” to 45142 (R1 per SMS).
– Follow @Corruption_SA on Twitter or ‘Like’ the page on Facebook.
