"Building a united front against corruption is paramount. This includes strengthening synergies among bodies and actors involved in promoting good governance and combating corruption”, said Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela addressing the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg last night.
The Public Protector’s address focused past and present challenges of corruption in South Africa and gave a snap shot of corruption cases her office has deals with. These included organised corruption by a syndicate cutting across three organs of state and a supermarket in civil society.
In this particular instance, the Department of Home Affairs gave IDs based on identity theft resulting in a phenomenon referred to as duplicate ID. The local clinic under the Department of Health gave health cards for fictitious children. South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) then captured the data and adjudicated the application favourably and a local supermarket was used as a pay point.
The Public Protector emphasised that corruption undermines human rights and has particularly marked impact on socio-economic rights and the justice system. After completing her stakeholder consultative dialogue, Adv Madonsela said that although she has not yet investigated the allegations made during the recent public hearings, information gathered already points to corruption being a huge factor slamming the breaks on the progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing as envisaged in section 26 of the Constitution.
Adv Madonsela acknowledged that there is a moral problem in our society but said that everybody should be concerned about corruption as not only does it rob primarily the poor of services they deserve but is increasingly associated with serious risks such as fatalities. She said this is the case in regard to buildings including stadia, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing programme and regulatory failures in areas such as approval of townships beyond RDP human settlements and other areas of life.
The Public Protector noted that corruption does not only take the form of bribery but has evolved over the years to include gratification. She said that the vehicles of gratification in modern corruption are also far more complex. Acknowledging that corruption is not something new to our country or a post apartheid phenomenon, the Public Protector said, “A common understanding of corruption is important. It is also important that we promote shared values and unwavering commitment regarding ensuring that wrongdoers are accountable regardless of who they are”. She concluded by inviting all role players to play their part in uprooting this endemic disease.
