South African civil society initiative Corruption Watch received more than 500 complaints from the public in the first month of its existence, with municipalities, traffic cops and the health sector the most frequently complained about.

The strong response reflected "a clear willingness on the part of members of the public to reveal their experiences of corruption and speak out against it," Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said in a statement on Sunday.

The initiative seeks to facilitate the flow of information and enable the South African public to hold their leaders, in both the public and private sector, accountable.

Corruption Watch will investigate certain of the complaints, while using all the information it receives to identify corruption "hot-spots" in the country.

Members of the public can report cases by visiting www.corruptionwatch.org.za, e-mailing info@corruptionwatch.org.za, or sending an SMS to 45142 at a cost of R1 per message. Whistle-blowers can choose to remain anonymous.

[,...]