1 / 27

AN OVERVIEW OF ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

BY : MR. ADMILL SIMPSON OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Date : 25 NOVEMBER 2009 Venue : PREMIER HOTEL, PRETORIA. AN OVERVIEW OF ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA. INTRODUCTION. Prior to 1994, no coherent anti-corruption initiative existed.

sylvester-vinson
Download Presentation

AN OVERVIEW OF ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. BY : MR. ADMILL SIMPSON OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Date : 25 NOVEMBER 2009 Venue : PREMIER HOTEL, PRETORIA AN OVERVIEW OF ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

  2. INTRODUCTION • Prior to 1994, no coherent anti-corruption initiative existed. • Early in its democracy South Africa recognized the need to build a National Integrity framework as key cornerstone in its fight against corruption. • Such an approach has its origins in October 1997 when Cabinet mandated a Ministerial Committee to consider proposals for the implementation of a National Campaign Against Corruption. • The first step of this process involved holding a Public Sector Conference in Parliament, Cape Town on 10 and 11 November 1998. • At this conference, a call was made for the anti-corruption effort to become a national concern, which would include all sectors of South African society. Consequently, a National Anti-Corruption Summit was convened in April of 1999, also in Parliament, Cape Town. The theme of the Conference was Fighting Corruption: Towards a National Integrity Strategy.

  3. INTRODUCTION (Cont) Some of the key outputs of this Summit were : • “To develop a clearly articulated national strategy to fight corruption in all sectors of society; • To obtain a commitment from all stakeholders to deal with corruption; and • To recommend legislative measures to give muscle to anti-corruption structures.” Since those early days, South Africa has responded by implementing an impressive array of legislation and the creation of democratic institutions as essential armour in its endeavors to build national integrity and fight corruption. I will allude to relevant legislation and institutions later in this presentation.

  4. LEGISLATION The Constitution • The South African Constitution (Act No. 108 of 1996) includes a Bill of Rights that forms the cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. • The Constitution also affirms institutions which promotes societal values and integrity in governance. These include the Human Rights Commission, the Gender Commission, the Public Protector, the Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission (PSC). • The Public Protector receives and investigates complaints from the public against government or its officials, and has the power to recommend corrective action. • The Auditor-General audits and reports to Parliament on the accounts, financial statements and financial management of all national and provincial state departments and municipalities. • The PSC has a custodial oversight mandate over the Public Service. It is independent and impartial and promotes Constitutional values and principles governing public administration including a high standard of professional ethics.

  5. LEGISLATION Corruption prevention and combating legislation • In order to entrench values such as transparency and accountability and to set the basis for the prevention and combating of corruption, legislation in the form of the Public Finance Management Act (Act No.1 of 1999), Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act No. 2 of 2000), the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (Act No. 3 of 2000), the Protected Disclosures Act,(Act No 26 of 2000), the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Act No. 12 of 2004) were promulgated.

  6. PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT ACT, ACT NO. 1 OF 1999 Sets the framework for accountable management of public funds and provides for criminal prosecution of Heads of Department if found guilty of financial negligence, unauthorized, fruitless or wasteful expenditure. THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, ACT NO. 2 OF 2000 Promotes transparency in government as well as the private sector. Strives to move away from a regime of secrecy by making available, through prescribed processes, publicly held information with certain limitations, e.g. Cabinet minutes.

  7. THE PROMOTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE ACT, ACT NO. 3, OF 2000 Promotes fair administrative procedures and redress for citizens. This Act requires government to follow fair procedures when taking decisions that affect the public or an individual. It gives people the right to request written reasons for decisions they disagree with, which allows them to see whether corruption influenced the decision. THE PREVENTION AND COMBATING OF CORRUPT ACTIVITIES ACT, ACT NO. 12 OF 2004 Provides effective legislation to combat corruption in all its forms. Reintroduces the common law act of bribery. Under the Act merely offering to bribe someone whether they accept or not, is corruption.

  8. THE PROTECTED DISCLOSURES ACT, ACT NO. 26 OF 2000 • Promotes whistleblowing as a preventative corruption measure and protects whistleblowers from “occupational detriment” as a result of blowing the whistle in good faith. • The Act is currently being reviewed by the SA Law Reform Commission with the aim of strengthening the provisions of the Act for the effective protection of whistleblowers.

  9. MINIMUM ANTI-CORRUPTION CAPACITY (MACC) • As part of Government’s Anti-Corruption Strategy departments must establish minimum anti-corruption capabilities to facilitate the prevention and combating of corruption. • According to the strategy departments must put in place mechanisms to prevent, detect and investigate corruption. Preventing Corruption • Ethical Organizational structure • Policies, Procedures and Internal Controls • Training and awareness programmes • Physical and information security • Verifying qualifications, integrity testing and vetting • Risk management 9

  10. Detecting Corruption • Whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms • The role of internal audit in detecting corruption • Managing information on corruption • The role of managers in preventing corruption • Reporting to the NACH Investigation • Staff selection must be appropriate. • The investigation process must follow accepted procedures. • Cooperating with law enforcement capabilities for complex and syndicated crime.

  11. SPECIALISED ANTI-CORRUPTION UNITS As part of government’s multi-agency approach to fighting corruption various units have been established. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) The SIU was created in terms of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, Act 74 of 1996(SIU Act). Vision "Working together to rid society of corruption“ Mission “A state body that fights corruption through quality investigations and litigation" 11

  12. SIU (cont) Amongst others, the SIU investigates the following: serious maladministration in connection with the affairs of any state institution; unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money or property; corruption in connection with the affairs of any state institution. Achievements The achievements of the SIU have been many and varied. Amongst these the following are of significance: Department of Social Development actual savings of R493 million; preventative savings of R4,9 billion and the removal of over 81 thousand fraudulent social claimant payments. The SIU has also been responsible for successful investigations in the Departments of Transport and Correctional Services. 12

  13. Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) was established in May 1999 in the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions to focus on the implementation of Chapters 5 and 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998(Act No. 121 of 1998). The AFU was created in order to ensure that the powers in the Act to seize criminal assets would be used to their maximum effect in the fight against crime, and particularly, organized crime. In the last 5 years, approximately R700 million worth of assets have been frozen. Approximately R70 million is currently available in CARA (Criminal Asset Recovery Account) to be distributed. Over R100 million has been paid to victims. This in itself demonstrates the effectiveness of asset forfeiture. 13

  14. DIRECTORATE OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS (DSO) (THE SCORPIONS) • The Scorpions were established to tackle syndicated crime and complex corruption. • Amongst its achievements are: • Tackled major international corporate raiding in conjunction with the United State of America and the United Kingdom; • Pierced the veil of grand corruption in South Africa through hard-earned convictions; • Convicted key directors in the business world of organized boardroom corruption; • The DSO has since been disbanded and replaced by the Directorate of Priority Crimes (The Hawks). 14

  15. SPECIALISED COMMERCIAL CRIMES UNIT Formed in 1999 in Pretoria to deal with complex commercial crime cases. The approach is to have investigations, prosecutions and adjudication under one roof. Offices are located in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and East London. Composed of specialist prosecutors and investigators of the NPA. Adjudication takes place in dedicated courts with a 95% conviction rate. 15

  16. CREATING A VALUE-DRIVEN INTEGRITY FRAMEWORK Whilst legislation has put the necessary framework in place to promote integrity, this must be operationalised. Within the Public Service the PSC has taken on this responsibility. The PSC has given its mandate, as discussed, become a flag bearer for the promotion of integrity within the Public Service. Its work in the area of professional ethics has allowed the PSC to develop value-driven integrity systems that have been implemented in the Public Service. 16

  17. Code of Conduct • The PSC has developed a Code of Conduct for the Public Service which has been incorporated as a Chapter in the Public Service Regulations. The Code of Conduct forms the cornerstone of the Public Service’s integrity framework as it sets standards for ethical conduct. The Code of Conduct exemplifies the spirit in which public officials should perform their duties, and points out what should be done to avoid conflicts of interest. It also indicates what is expected of public officials in terms of their personal conduct and in serving the public.

  18. Managing conflicts of interest • In addition to the Code of Conduct for public servants, the PSC has also developed and administers a Financial Disclosure Framework for senior managers in the Public Service. This framework is aimed at preventing conflicts of interest by requiring of senior managers to disclose their financial interests. • Recognising the importance of managing conflicts of interest in promoting integrity, the PSC has conducted research into the establishment of a comprehensive framework to manage conflicts of interest in the Public Service. This has culminated in a report on the management of conflicts of interest in the Public Service. Through the Report, the PSC proposed the establishment of a Conflicts of Interest System which will promote the perception of integrity in government by preventing conflicts of interest before they occur. • The PSC’s recommendations have been taken on board by the DPSA which recently submitted a conflicts of interest policy framework to Cabinet

  19. The rate of compliance has improved since the inception of the FDF as indicated in the following table: • However, the PSC is of the view that only a 100% compliance rate would be acceptable.

  20. THE NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTIONHOTLINE (NACH)

  21. SOME SUCCESSES • The recovery of R 86 million from perpetrators, • 81 officials were found guilty of misconduct, • Out of this 81 officials: • 15 were suspended • 25 officials were given final written warnings • 29 were dismissed Challenges • Lack of investigative capacity • Departments do not have appropriate structures or specialized units to deal with NACH cases.

  22. THE ROLE OF BUSINESS • Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has a dedicated working group against corruption which has developed the following: • International Investor Anti-Corruption Guide • SME Anti-Corruption Guide • Charter of Ethical Business Practice

  23. KING REPORT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE • The Institute of Directors published the first King Report on corporate governance in 1994. It focused on good governance practice for the private sector. The report has been updated twice, once in 2002 (King II) and now again in 2009 (King III). • King III has taken particular interest in the practice of good corporate ethics by both the board and company functionaries. It also requires that the board should assess the company’s ethics performance, and report and disclose findings to internal and external stakeholders. • While the King Report is regarded as good practice both locally and internationally, it is not compulsory for businesses to adopt it.

  24. NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION FORUM (NACF) • South Africa has an anti-corruption coalition comprised of the Business, Civil Society and Public Sectors. The purpose of the NACF is: • To contribute towards the establishment of a national consensus through the co-ordination of sectoral strategies against corruption; • To advise Government on national initiatives on the implementation of strategies to combat corruption; •  To share information and best practice on sectoral anti-corruption work; •  To advise sectors on the improvement of sectoral anti-corruption strategies.

  25. NACF (CONT) • Since its inception in 2001 the NACF has had its fair share of problems. These include balancing the diaries and agendas of three divergent sectors. This lead to a break in activities during 2002. • Since then the NACF has been revived and has held two national anti-corruption summits. • Some of its achievements include: • An Integrity Pledge was adopted and signed by the leaders of the various sectors represented on the NACF. • South Africa’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, was popularised by simplifying it through a Guide, both in terms of language and through the use of illustrations. • The NACF also completed research reports on ethics in schools and universities as well as a report on accountability by departments. • Business also completed a study on corruption within the private sector which will become the basis for its future anti-corruption efforts.

  26. CONCLUSION • From the presentation it is evident that government has put in place a comprehensive and regulatory framework to combat corruption. • However, research by the PSC has consistently shown a decided weakness in implementation of the framework. • The next phase of the anti-corruption effort should be focused on the successful implementation of these regulations and mechanisms. • This will ensure trust in government by citizens who need to experience the positive effects of service delivery. • Most successes against corruption was achieved by specialised units like the SIU, AFU, DSO and specialised crime courts. • It is heartening to note the anti-corruption coalition through the NACF which brings together diverse sectors in a common goal of promoting integrity in a national sense for the benefit of all.

  27. THANK YOU!

More Related