5 December 2006
The National Anti-Corruption Forum comprising Business, Civil Society and
Government, held its last meeting for 2006 today at the South African Reserve
Bank in Pretoria. The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Public Service
and Administration, Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi. The South African National
Editors' Forum (SANEF) was welcomed to its first meeting of the NACF and the
NACF looks forward to the active participation of SANEF.
For the first time South Africa will be hosting the Global Forum V on
Corruption in the beginning of April 2007. The theme, 'Fulfilling our
commitments: Effective action against corruption,' will emphasise effective
implementation and application of anti corruption measures. Global Forum V will
provide the opportunity for the African region to promote a common
understanding of corruption and provide a collective position and response to
corruption, and to this end, an Africa Forum on Fighting Corruption will be
held from 28 February to 2 March 2007. The NACF will contribute to these
events, and ensure participation of civil society. Although Global Forum V is
an inter-governmental meeting, civil society organisations have been invited as
participants and members of civil society will also present papers and chair
particular sessions in both Global Forum and the Africa Forum. During the
Africa Forum a round-table of former heads of African countries will be hosted
to address issues related to corruption at the beginning of the Africa
Forum.
A brief report was given on the country review report on South Africa's
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) self-assessment. The final review report
is not available as yet. The draft report however, is a positive report
acknowledging the achievements made. It identifies 18 best practices ranging
from Izimbizo, robust legal system, protection of human rights and the South
African Revenue Services and Multi-Purpose Community Centres, amongst others.
The report also praised South Africa for the introduction of methodological
innovations in implementing the APRM, including a simplified questionnaire
translated into all official languages; the promotion of participatory
methodologies applied by Community Development Workers; and participation of
civil society through the local Economic, Social & Cultural Council
(ECOSSOC) chapter. At the same time the review report does point to challenges
that must be addressed.
The report contains preliminary findings of the Eminent Persons. In terms of
the process, Government is required to interact with the Eminent Persons,
pointing to factual inaccuracies and omissions as well as comment on measures
it intends taking to meet identified shortcomings. The next step is for the
Eminent Persons to table their report to the Heads of State and Government
Assembly in January, where our President will participate. It will then be
released publicly. As a country, we will have the responsibility of
implementing the Action Plan emanating from the review.
A comprehensive report was given on the progress made on the National
Anti-Corruption Programme (NACP). Work done clearly reflects that the NACF is
yielding positive results. Civil society and the public sector reported that
the NACF integrity pledge was being used as a vehicle to promote
anti-corruption within their sectors. The sectors also reflected on the codes
of conducts for their respective constituencies and it was reported that the
Public Service Commission had distributed over a million copies of an
Explanatory Manual on the Code of Conduct and that a report on the efficacy of
the Code of Conduct was produced. In order to strengthen capacity for the
implementation of anti-corruption legislation it was reported that
approximately 263 public sector officials were trained by the South African
Management Development Institute. This includes officials at national,
provincial and local government level. In relation to conflict of interest, it
was reported that the Public Service Commission has produced a report on the
management of conflicts of interest and this work is now being taken forward by
a joint team. It was noted that South Africa is one of the first countries to
ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and to comply with its
mandatory requirements.
In considering the progress report, the NACF members felt that there has
been substantial progress in the manner that the NACF has executed its
programme, whilst recognising that there is more that it can do. The NACF
agreed that each of the sectors will critically review the progress report and
through introspection identify and prioritise gaps that must be addressed. This
will be discussed in depth at the first NACF meeting to be held in 2007.
Business presented its view on the results of Transparency International's
Bribe Payers' Index 2006, which ranked South Africa 24th out of 30 countries
indicating that there is a strong possibility that South African Businesses
will bribe foreign officials in other countries. The NACF was grateful for the
opportunity to engage with this issue. Business acknowledged that it is its
responsibility to put in place measures to ensure accountability in the
business environment. The Anti-Corruption Business Working Group will be
putting forward a document which will be symbolic of business' zero tolerance
approach to corruption.
This document will be subscribed to by businesses and will set out
sub-sections that such businesses will have to deal with in their respective
codes of conduct. Adopting these measures will provide for good governance
within the business arena. The NACF reflected on the history of the discussion
within the NACF on corporate governance. Corporate failings had resulted in the
Forum calling for a discussion to be led by business on corporate governance.
It was agreed that the Extended NACF in February will receive a report on these
matters, with a focus on extra-territorial operations of South African
companies and how to maintain corporate governance standards domestically and
internationally.
In addition, a roundtable on bribery of foreign officials by businesses will
be convened in early 2007 to explore action against this practice. In the
discussion on the effectiveness of Hotlines as anti-corruption mechanisms, it
was highlighted that as at 30 November 2006, a total of 2 296 cases of alleged
corruption were reported to the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH) since
its inception in September 2004. The NACH is managed by the Public Service
Commission (PSC). Although feedback from departments and agencies is generally
slow, (feedback has only been received in respect of 830 out of 2 296 cases),
cases reported to the Hotline have already led to the dismissal of 20 officials
from the Public Service, while 17 were suspended pending finalisation of their
cases.
The most frequently reported cases relating to provinces dealt with alleged
abuse of government-owned vehicles (168) as well as allegations of fraud and
procurement irregularities such as favouring friends/relatives or not following
proper procedures when issuing tenders (159). In order to address the slow
response rate, the Public Service Commission has developed a Toolkit on the
management of Hotline Cases. It was also reported that the Department of Social
Development has its own hotline which has since March 2004 received more than
40 168 cases related to social grant fraud. The South African Revenue Services
(SARS) Hotline recorded more than 40 715 cases. The highest number of cases
reported to the SARS hotline related to personal income tax (13 100), followed
by import-related cases (6 211) and company tax related cases (5 954).
The NACF noted that considerable progress has been made in certain areas of
its work, but that there is a need to step up the pace of work in the New Year
in order to build on the current momentum. The hosting of Global Forum V and
the Africa Forum provide an opportunity to give impetus to a stronger drive.
Sectors have been requested to observe and celebrate International
Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December.
Enquiries:
Mr Clayson Monyela
Cell: 082 806 7405
Humphrey Ramafoko
Cell: 082 782 1730
Manase Makwela
Cell: 082 782 1759
Issued by: Department of Public Service and Administration
5 December 2006
