South Africa: Anti-corruption bill sets new rules for parliament

Parliament's mixture of new and long-term MPs were on Friday advised that the tough new anti-corruption bill passed earlier this year applied to them as well - and they could not use their parliamentary privilege to malign anyone outside parliament itself. Anton Meyer, parliament's chief legal adviser, was taking the MPs through the rules and regulations that affect them as office bearers as much as they do ordinary members of the public. The new Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, passed by the previous parliament before the April elections, applied to all South Africans and indicated that government was "very, very serious" about rooting out corruption at all levels of society, Meyer said.