Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Mr Richard Baloyi today delivered the keynote address at the Public Protector Good Governance Conference. The conference hosted by the Public Protector in collaboration with the Commonwealth at the Sheraton Hotel, in Pretoria is taking place from 12 to 14 October 2010 deliberating on how to promote good governance in state affairs.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the President of the Republic on initiatives by government to improve good governance, Minister Baloyi remarked “The cause of good governance requires that we eradicate the scourge of corruption in public institutions. While it is the responsibility of the entire society to join the fight against corruption, we in government have a greater responsibility. As a result we have established a Cabinet Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to coordinate government efforts to combat corruption. This Committee works with institutions such as the Special investigation Unit (SIU), the Auditor General (AG) as well as the Public Protector (PP). We thank all these institutions for the support they are providing to the IMC.”
“We have also established an Anti-Corruption Task Team led by the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations, also known as the Hawks, to coordinate investigations and prosecutions,” Minister Baloyi added.
The Anti-Corruption Task Team pays focused attention on areas such as supply chain management in government, identity theft, fraud in the social grants system and electronic fraud.
Speaking on the political will in the fight against corruption, Minister Baloyi further commented on high priority investigations that have been taken on by the Anti-Corruption Task Team. “In August this year the Special Investigation Unit was directed to investigate allegations of corruption around supply chain management processes in seven national departments and in the provinces of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.”
“We have taken all these steps because we know that corruption does not only take away resources that should otherwise be used to improve the lives of our people. We also know that it weakens a democracy, undermines the confidence that people have in public institutions and corrodes the cohesion and moral fibre of society” Minister Baloyi added.
The conference noted that efforts at promoting and strengthening good governance should go beyond issues of combating corruption and fraud calling for the strengthening of instruments of accountability in public institutions.
Responding on the matter Minister Baloyi indicated that one way in which government sought to achieve this goal is through the introduction of an outcomes approach to governance. “An outcomes based approach to governance means that we should clearly define the outcomes government needs to achieve and how it plans to achieve those outcomes. We have identified 12 outcomes we plan to achieve by the end of this government. In order to ensure we achieve these outcomes the President has signed Performance Agreements with all Ministers. Ministers are in the process of signing Delivery Agreements with their counterparts in provincial and local government. Senior officials across the spheres of government will have to sign their own agreements specifying their contribution to meeting our goals.”
“For the first time people will be judged against clear indicators whether they have done their jobs or not. These steps we have taken mark the beginning of a journey towards good governance and improved government performance.” said Minister Baloyi.
Participants at the conference will over the next two days exhaust the debate on means to improve good governance. The inaugural Public Protector Good Governance Conference, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the existence of the Public Protector as a constitutional office will end on 14 October 2010.
Enquiries:
Dumisani Nkwamba
Cell: 082 885 9448
Tel: 012 336 1704
E-mail: dumisanin@dpsa.gov.za
Lebohang Mafokosi
Cell: 082 312 4641
Tel: 012 336 1017
E-mail: lebohangm@dpsa.gov.za
