Corruption is damaging to any institution’s reputation and the presence of it diminishes respect, credibility and most importantly public trust. Once an organisation has been labelled as corrupt, it is difficult to root out and change public perception.
For this reason, the elimination of corruption in the public service is a priority for government, and research has shown it to be major concern to South Africans. According to GCIS Tracker Research (January to March 2014), respondents indicated that corruption is amongst the top four challenges that the country faces.
Unfortunately corruption is found in all sectors of society; however we are determined to stamp out this cancer wherever it resides. Trust in the police is often a barometer of how people view society. Therefore shortly after her appointment in 2012, the National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega emphasised the importance of bolstering the integrity of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and ridding it of corruption.
Amoung the first interventions to this end was the announcement last year that the police would reintroduce its internal anti-corruption unit. The unit is aligned with the National Development Plan (NDP)objective of establishing a functioning anti-corruption system that is adequately resourced and enjoys operational independence to ensure thoroughness and objectivity.
"If we are to successfully fight crime in the country, we must first get our house in order. We must fight crime with clean hands. We will therefore not shy away from taking action against our own. We will certainly do it with boldness," General Phiyega said.
This boldness has started to yield results, with 70 police officers being dismissed in the past six months for serious offences such as corruption, attempted murder, armed robbery, defeating the ends of justice and assault.
As part of the investigations, two syndicates were uncovered which involved officials from the SAPS, South African Revenue Service (SARS) and Gauteng traffic police. In another incident, officials from the South African Social Security Agency were arrested for defrauding the agency of a significant amount of money.
Speaking on behalf of government, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi emphasised that these arrests will go a long way in the fight against crime and corruption in government.
“An effective and efficient public service is easily undermined by poor ethics and corruption, and government will not allow such acts to thrive. To this end, government has put in place interventions to address crime and corruption,” she said.
She also mentioned that government departments are heeding the instruction by President Jacob Zuma to address weaknesses in procurement, management and operations systems that undermine the efficiency of government.
In another step to address corruption, President Zuma recently announced the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on the Prevention and Combating of Corruption. This committee chaired by Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, will help fight corruption in the public and private sectors.
The committee’s work will be supported by the Public Administration Management (PAM) Bill, which will be introduced to address issues of corruption, the lack of professionalism in the public service, and the lack of common standards.
The PAM Bill, when signed into law, will prohibit public servants among others to conduct business with the State. It will also introduce the Office of Standards and Compliance to monitor the implementation of national public service standards, and the National Disciplinary Unit, which will support all three tiers of government to deal with disciplinary cases effectively. It will also complement other key legislation such thePublic Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Other interventions include our anti-corruption strategy, which enforces stringent rules and procedures to stop nepotism and favouritism. Training for all public servants on the code of conduct and ethics and corruption will also be conducted.
All these interventions are a clear signal that government is serious about tackling corruption, maladministration and unethical behaviour. They are an affirmation of our commitment to all South Africans that we will not tolerate corrupt and dishonest officials.
However, the successes of our interventions hinge largely on the help and support of the nation. Our fight can only be successful if South Africans assist government by refraining from bribing officials and most importantly report any form of corruption.
Play your part and help to stamp out corruption by calling the 24-hour hotline number: 0800 701 701. Alternatively send a text message to 39772; or an email to integrity@publicservicecorruptionhotline.org.za. Complaints can also be made online at publicservicecorruptionhotline.org.za or by visiting one of the national Public Service Commission offices.
We would like to reiterate that most public servants are good, hard-working people who aspire to provide efficient services to citizens, but often their work is tainted by a few bad apples. Government is committed to move South Africa forward by eliminating corruption in the Public Service.
Phumla Williams is Acting CEO of the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS)
