T Didiza: Anti-Corruption Conference

25 September 2007

"Government is firmly committed to come down harshly against all forms of
corruption including bribery and abuse of public trust." I am quoting the above
primarily because it was Deputy President Thabo Mbeki who addressed the
Anti-Corruption Summit in Cape Town in November 1998 and boldly stated the
resolve of this government, to mobilise any resources it can muster to fight
and defeat corruption.

Perhaps never the person to shy away from public commitment, the Deputy
President, Mr Thabo Mbeki further assented that, "we should take heart that
corruption is not entirely new in government. If a sin is as old as humankind,
so too is corruption as old as government itself. He went further to pose a
challenge to us as leadership: "The ability of public institutions to cross the
threshold and fight corruption efficaciously hinges largely on a number of
factors, an important one of which is a political will and determination from
the highest echelons to tackle this ugly monster that is reaping havoc with our
control systems."

Secondly, I am standing here to report that almost a decade later;
government in general has done exactly that: assumed leadership in the fight
against corruption, fraud and maladministration. In fact most investigations,
some of which very high-profiled, that later fed into the ever-present frenzy
of our popular media, were both instituted by government and fed to the same
media, by government. To state this obvious fact does not constitute denial,
rather it is an admission that corruption continues to exist amidst a
tightening environment by government to, prevent it, detect it, dissuade it,
and punish it.

One of the struggles we fought under apartheid, it was a struggle for moral
supremacy because together with the whole world, we agreed that apartheid was
immoral. The veil of secrecy around the system allowed apartheid atrocities,
crimes and corruption to occur and be perpetuated without any compunction for
accountability. However, after 1994, the new leadership and cadre is a moral
one, characterised by openness, transparency, accountability and freedom.

At my first public interaction with Public Works Management in June 2006
following my appointment as Minister of Public Works, I urged managers to
embrace the new ethos of public service, patriotism and selflessness by
recognising and acknowledging their fortune after history had placed them in an
advantage to make a difference in the lives of the people. As innocuous as it
might seem, the call was inspired by the realisation that unless political
leadership surrounds itself with the public service that was willing and ready
to make sacrifices, we shall continue to harbour in our midst government
officials devoid of these virtues instead driven by greed, selfishness and
little regard for the common goal of all. Such individuals are the weak links
in the chain and are susceptible to corruption, fraud and malice.

By nature, the business of Public Works is prone to acts of corruption and
fraud. On daily basis, the organisation enters into millions of rands of
transactions with mainly the property and construction industries. With so much
cash changing hands in this competitive industry, there always exists a chance
that someone might find themselves colluding with the civil society to commit
acts tantamount to corruption. It was this same realisation that led to the
department organising and hosting its first Anti-corruption Summit in 2001,
following a directive of the Minister and her provincial MEC’s, to implement a
five point anti-corruption plan. Among others the plan called for the creation
of awareness about corruption what it is, how does it occur, what are its
implications and how best to combat it.

Over the years, the department has refined its Fraud Prevention Strategy as
required by law and improved its internal control systems including internal
audit. Consequently we have become better, effective and bolder to even take
serious disciplinary and/or criminal steps against some senior personnel of the
department. In the interim, we have taken the experience gained, refined it and
contributed it to forums of similar design convened to strengthen government
efforts against corruption.

At the last (i.e. Second National Anti-Corruption Summit of March 2005,
building on the first association and buoyed by our recent success, government
has resolved on the following four focus areas, namely:

1. promoting ethics, awareness and prevention
2. combating any likely acts of corruption
3. strengthening all oversight structures and make them champions of
transparency and accountability
4. maximising the role of National Anti-Corruption Forum and implementing its
Programme of Action.

By nature, public servants are supposed to be ethical people in honour of
the trust embedded in them by the citizens. As lawmakers, governors and
implementers of government policies, public servants and we should be
whistleblowers against crime corruption and any malicious extravagance. Sadly,
weak characters amongst us continue to weaken the value chain and compromise
our good virtues. Such misfits need to be dealt with harshly and remorselessly.
We have done exactly that in the department.

At the same time, leadership and management must ceaselessly create an
environment where everyone will be exposed to awareness messages with regard to
good administration. The Department has mobilised all its internal
administration processes to assist in this regard. In compliance, the
department has over the years strengthened the capacity of internal audit and
fraud investigations while nurturing a co-operative approach with government
oversight bodies including offices of the Accountant General, Auditor-General
and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA).

Collectively, management resolved as one of their strategic goals to
consciously strengthen working relations with the above institutions, including
the Public Works Portfolio Committee. In the same manner that government and
the country have put in place national strategies to manage crime and fight the
spread of HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases, the government has
recommitted to upholding and implementing the programme of action of the
National Anti-Corruption Forum which emphasises among others the promotion of
strong governance structures, sound financial management practices and internal
controls, competent workforce and prevention of collusion particularly between
the public and private civil sector officials.

At Public Works, we understand just how important our role is in the
reconstruction and development of our country. Unless we do our best in
improving our service delivery record, we run the risk of undermining the
service delivery capacity of other organs of state, hence our assertion that
South Africa Works because of Public Works.

This is not a statement of arrogance and cheap boasting. Rather it is a
powerful act of acknowledgement that a hobbling Public Works has the potential
to incapacitate the service delivery machinery of state. Therefore the building
blocks of a strong public works are its most ethical and patriotic employees
who are destined to make sacrifices in the service of others and the laying of
concrete foundations upon which a steady future will be built for all of
us.

I wish the conference well in its deliberations and believe that you will
come up with further resolutions that will be written in indelible ink on your
hearts and consciences. Corruption kills service delivery and do not allow
yourselves to contribute to the death of a nation.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Public Works
25 September 2007