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Presentation to Portfolio Committee on the effectiveness and challenges of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline, including statistics, trends, and recommendations for improvement.
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PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE: EVALUATION OF THE NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION HOTLINE DATE : 13 JUNE 2007
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. BACKGROUND • One of the key obstacles faced in the fight against corruption in the Public Service is the fact that public servants are often too intimidated to speak out or “blow the whistle” on corrupt and unlawful activities. • One of the mechanisms used world-wide to provide whistleblowers with access to report corruption are “Corruption Hotlines”. • On 14 August 2003 Cabinet approved (Cabinet Memorandum 45 of August 2003) the establishment of one National Hotline for the Public Service, and requested the Public Service Commission (PSC) to manage the Hotline. • The PSC has a very specific mandate in relation to ethics and corruption in the Public Service as set out in the Constitution, 1996. In terms of sections 195 of the Constitution the PSC is mandated to-
195 (4)(a) promote a high standard of professional ethics in the Public Service. • 196(4)(b) investigate, monitor and evaluate the organisation and administration, and the personnel practices, of the public service; and • 196(4)(f)(i) investigate and evaluate the application of personnel and public administration practices, and to report to the relevant executing authority and legislature. The objectives of the NACH are to: • deter potential corruption by making all employees and other stakeholders aware that the Public Service is not a “soft target” and raise the level of awareness that the Public Service is serious about corruption;
OBJECTIVES (CONT) • detect incidents of corruption through encouraging whistle blowers to report incidents which they witness occurring in the Public Service; • ensure the successful investigation of alleged corruption and to provide feedback to whistle-blowers; • assist the Public Service in identifying areas of corruption risk in order that preventative and detective control measures can be appropriately improved or developed; • raise awareness that Government takes corruption seriously; and • enable callers to report corruption anonymously thus encouraging whistle- blowing. The PSC believes the timing appropriate to reflect on the effectiveness of the NACH after 2 years of operation.
1.2 OBJECTIVES WITH THIS EVALUATION OF THE NACH The PSC through this evaluation therefore seeks to: • Provide a statistical overview of cases submitted to the Hotline from 01 September 2004 to 30 November 2006. • Identify trends emerging from the cases reported on the Hotline from 01 September 2004 to 30 November 2006. • Identify problems and discuss emerging challenges in managing the Hotline. • Raise the level of awareness to intensify the fight against corruption. • Further assist the Departments in identifying areas of fraud risk in order that preventative and detective control measures can appropriately be developed or improved. • Provide recommendations on the effective management of the cases referred to departments. • Identify areas for improvement of the Hotline improved.
1.3 METHODOLOGY • The PSC conducted an evaluation of all information available from the PSC call centre, PSC database (Case Management System) and through NACH workshops conducted at National and Provincial level with senior managers and investigators who are in involved in managing Hotline cases in their respective departments. In conducting the evaluation of data at its disposal, the PSC specifically considered the following: • Number of cases of corruption logged on the NACH • Manner in which corruption was reported.
METHODOLOGY (CONT) • Rate of feedback • The conclusion of investigations • The nature of cases reported to the Hotline. • Challenges experienced in managing the hotline. • Based on the PSC’s management of the hotline.
2. FUNCTIONING OF THE HOTLINE 2.1 REPORTING ALLEGED CORRUPTION TO THE NACH • The NACH is operational 24 hours and seven days a week and caters for all eleven languages. Various methods of reporting alleged corruption are available. This includes telephone, fax, e-mail, normal post, or personal visits to any of the offices of the PSC. The following contact details are applicable: • Telephone, using the 0800 701 701 toll free number. • Fax, using the 0800 204 965 toll free number. • Post, by sending information to: Freepost, Kwa-Zulu Natal 582, Umhlanga Rocks 4320. • E-mail at integrity@gobodoHotline.co.za.
FUNCTIONING (CONT) 2.2 CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM • The information is captured on the Case Management System (CMS). • This information allows the PSC to evaluate allegations the functioning of the Hotline as well as to establish trends. 2.3 CASE REFERRALS • The PSC refers cases to departments with a covering letter addressed to the respective Directors-General in line with the protocols as agreed with provinces and departments.
FUNCTIONING (CONT) 2.4 FEEDBACK TO THE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THE PSC • Departments must provide feedback on progress with investigations within 40 days of the date of referral. Such progress refers to milestones reached in the investigation for purposes of providing feedback to the caller (s). • The PSC through its CMS maintains a complete data-base of the status of cases. Outstanding feedback on cases is followed up on a regular basis by the PSC through reminders to departments.
FUNCTIONING (CONT) 2.5 ANALYSIS OF FEEDBACK • Once the PSC receives feedback it critically evaluates the information provided by the departments to determine: • Whether the allegation has been adequately investigated and could therefore be closed on the case management system. In conducting this evaluation the PSC determines whether it agrees with the findings of the investigation based on an analysis of the feedback provided by the department. The PSC uses its expertise in the field of public administration to determine whether departments’ interpretation of rules, regulations and laws is correct and whether there are not factual gaps in the findings of departments that should be addressed. • Whether the information provided by the department is adequate for the PSC to take an informed decision and whether additional documentation or information are required. • The nature of the feedback to be captured on the case management system.
FUNCTIONING (CONT) 2.6 CLOSURE OF CASES • Once the PSC is satisfied that a case has been investigated to its satisfaction and that the outcome complies with the rules, regulations and laws governing public administration, it approves the feedback that should be captured on the Hotline. • If the PSC is satisfied that no further feedback would be necessary on a specific case it authorizes the closure of the case on the CMS. • The department involved is informed that the case is considered finalized and that it has been closed on the CMS. The closure of the case on the CMS does not mean that the information on the case will be removed from the CMS as feedback still has to be provided to the caller.
FUNCTIONING (CONT) 2.7 FEEDBACK TO CALLERS • Once feedback on individual cases reported to the NACH is obtained from departments and the PSC has conducted its evaluation of the feedback, the feedback is then captured on the CMS. • Persons who reported the alleged corruption can obtain feedback by phoning the Hotline and by quoting the unique case reference number that was given to them when they first reported the alleged corruption to the Hotline.
3. STASTICAL OVERVIEW 3.1 MANNER IN WHICH CORRUPTION IS REPORTED TO THE NACH
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • The preferred method of reporting is through anonymous disclosures. A possible reason why whistle-blowers prefer anonymous disclosures is that public servants may be too intimidated to speak out or "blow the whistle" on corrupt and unlawful activities, despite the protection provided to them through the Protected Disclosures Act, 2007. • The disadvantage with anonymous callers is that vital information or evidence, if not supplied in the first instance on the alleged corruption, is difficult to obtain as callers cannot be traced for follow-up purposes.
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) 3.2 LANGUAGES USED BY WHISTLEBLOWERS IN REPORTING CORRUPTION TO THE NACH
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • The majority of people preferred to report corruption using English. • Callers to the Hotline have the advantage that they can communicate whatever information that they have to share in their home language. • This gives true meaning to accessibility and promotes participation. 3.3 OVERALL STATISTICS • A total of 4182 cases of alleged corruption reported to the NACH during the period 01 September 2004 to 30 November 2006 was logged on the CMS. • After an evaluation of the cases, the PSC found that only 2296 related to corruption. • A breakdown of the different types of cases as registered on the CMS is illustrated in table 1 below:
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • Out of the 4182 cases logged on the CMS, the NACH also received one thousand 1105 cases of service delivery related matters. This places unnecessary strain on the Hotline. • However, attempts are being made to refer callers reporting service delivery cases to appropriate institutions / call centers. This is done by operators at the call centre. • A further 507 cases were closed on the case management system due to a lack of detail or allegations being regarded as frivolous. • Frivolous cases are cases in which a critical factual gap exists, rendering the likelihood of a successful conclusion unlikely, doubtful or impossible (e.g. no or inadequate description of person (s) involved). • One hundred and sixty six cases related to private sector matters which could not be addressed within the context of the Public Service and were closed on the Case Management System.
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • Note: Abusive calls: Refers to calls where people use foul and insulting language. • Children playing: Refers to children playing on the phone “mainly during school holidays”. • Dropped calls: Refers to calls where people decided to terminate a call for no apparent reason. • Enquiries: Refers to calls where people make enquiries about matters not linked to corruption. • Fax line: Refers to irrelevant faxes received through fax hotline. • Unnecessary request for feedback: Refers to calls where people requested feedback without having the case reference number.
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • The NACH received a huge number (20682) of calls not relevant to the reporting of corruption. This is problematic to the functioning of the NACH as it affects service delivery and effective management of the NACH. • This disadvantage needs to be balanced against the need for free access to report corruption by concerned citizens.
STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT) • Allegations of corruption received by the NACH have risen gradually since the inception of the NACH. When the Hotline started in September 2004, one hundred and thirty six cases (136) were recorded. • On average, 82 call reports are received per month. Overall however, most calls have been received during 2006 with November 2006 achieving the highest number, namely 158. • This shows a positive trend in the uptake of the Hotline.
FEEDBACK (CONT) • Feedback received constitutes a response rate of 36%. This percentage reflects negatively on departments’ capacity and ability to investigate cases and to provide feedback to callers. Certain departments have not submitted any feedback at all. • One hundred and forty two (142) cases were properly closed on the case management system by 30 November 2006 after an investigation had been concluded by the relevant Departments. This represents only 6% of cases reported to the NACH. • Twenty (20) officials were dismissed after disciplinary action had been taken following the investigation of cases reported to the Hotline. A further (17) officials have been suspended pending misconduct proceedings related to alleged corruption. This amounts to 26% of cases that were successfully investigated.
FEEDBACK (CONT) 3.5 CASES REFERRED TO DEPARTMENTS AT NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL LEVEL AND FEEDBACK RECEIVED
FEEDBACK (CONT) • Gauteng Province has the highest number of cases of alleged corruption reported via the NACH, followed by Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. • Despite receiving the most cases of alleged corruption, Gauteng has only submitted feedback in respect of forty seven (47) cases (7% of the total number of cases referred). • Furthermore, only sixteen (16) responses have been received from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. • The poor responses received from Gauteng Province and KwaZulu-Natal Province are cause for concern. • The underlying reasons for such poor response rates are not clear but it does appear as if the protocols established for case referrals and feedback within these Provinces may not be working well. • However, procedural inefficiencies are not an acceptable excuse for not giving due attention to something as important as dealing effectively with corruption.
4. TREND ANALYSIS WITH RESPECT TO THE NATURE OF CASES REPORTED TO THE NACH 4.1 OVERVIEW OF THE NATURE OF CASES REPORTED
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) 4.2 OVERALL TREND ANALYSIS OF ALL CASES REPORTED TO THE NACH
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) • A total of three hundred and twenty eight (328) cases of alleged unethical behaviour by public servants relating to issues such as non-adherence to official working hours were reported. • It appears that public servants may not have been adequately informed of the requirements of the Code of Conduct for the Public Service and that departments are promoting professional ethics adequately. • Alleged procurement irregularities were also frequently reported. The total of two hundred and thirty four (234) cases reported points to risks associated with the area of supply chain management. • The abuse of Government-owned vehicles was also given a high prominence with two hundred and thirty three (233) cases being reported.
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) • Despite the fact the Department of Social Development has its own Social Grant Fraud Hotline a total of one hundred and ninety three (193) cases were reported to the NACH. Most of these cases involve pension, disability and child grant fraud committed by members of the public as well as public officials. • Alleged fraud related to passports, death, birth and marriage certificates were also frequently reported. A total of one hundred and seventy five (175) cases of alleged identity document fraud as well as fraud related to passports, death, birth and marriage certificates was reported. • The effectiveness of the fraud prevention plan of Department of Home Affairs in addressing these risks and its internal capacity and expertise to manage such risks must be a cause of concern.
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) 4.3 ANALYSIS OF CASES OF ALLEGED CORRUPTION REPORTED IN RESPECT OF PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) • At provincial level, the alleged abuse of government owned vehicles has the highest frequency of all cases reported. • The high number may be because the drivers of such vehicles are in the public eye at all times and. • It has also been observed that the hotline number has been displayed visually on some Government owned vehicles. • As parents have a very close relationship with the schools that their children attend. It is therefore not surprising that one hundred and twenty one (121) cases of alleged corruption relating to the mismanagement of school funds by certain principals and teachers were reported.
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) 4.4 ANALYSIS OF CASES OF ALLEGED CORRUPTION REPORTED IN RESPECT OF NATIONAL DEPARTMENTS
TREND ANALYSIS (CONT) • In comparison to provincial departments more public servants were reported at National level in respect of the soliciting of bribes. As the bulk of service delivery happens at provincial government level where service providers are more frequently contacted, this trend raises questions. • A possible reason could be that service providers for national departments apply closer attention to their own codes of ethics and therefore may be more inclined to report corrupt behaviour by public servants.
5. MANAGINGTHE HOTLINE • The successful functioning of the Hotline is contingent on a number of factors. Some of these are within the PSC’s ability to control and directly influence whilst others are largely dependent on the activities of departments in relation to Hotline referrals. • The PSC through its day to day management of the Hotline has observed a number of issues that impact both positively and negatively on the functioning of the Hotline. • This section examines good practice as well as challenges that have emerged from the management of NACH and as such comments on the effectiveness of the Hotline.
MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT) 5.1 THE CALL CENTER 5.1.1 Good reaction time from the call center • The call center is extremely efficient in logging case reports on the case management system. From when a call is logged to when the case appears on the case management system, following quality control procedures at the call center, takes on average less than 24 hours. • Urgent cases such as tip-offs of theft and threats to human life are dealt with immediately. The call center contacts the responsible officials at the PSC immediately who in turn alerts the relevant authorities. • Such urgent referrals have already resulted in the arrests of perpetrators caught in the act.
MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT) 5.1.2 Duplication of cases and reference numbers • The investigation and following up on cases reported to the Hotline was initially complicated by the fact that the CMS duplicated cases as well as reference numbers. This occurred when a person phoned twice on the same matter or after a caller had sent additional information via the fax line. • This is, however, identified by the PSC on the CMS and the additional information is appropriately referenced against the original call received. As a result departments are no longer provided with different reference numbers on the same case.
MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT) 5.1.3 Cases on service delivery being reported to the hotline • Such calls in fact constitute 34% of all cases logged on the CMS. This places unnecessary strain on the Hotline and the PSC. • In addition the PSC, given its mandate, cannot simply ignore such cases and actively pursue the information received with departments. • Whereas the PSC in the past had to deal with 40 to 60 investigations per annum emanating from the complaints lodged through its Complaints Rules, it has received within the short period of existence of the Hotline an additional 1105 complaints.
MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT) 5.1.4 Phone calls on other non-corruption related matters not captured on the CMS • The Call Center, in addition to corruption and service delivery related cases, received a total of 20682 calls, the bulk of which were non-corruption related enquiries, children playing and dropped calls. There were also a substantial number of abusive calls (878). When the Hotline has to deal with such calls, it denies access to other callers that genuinely want to report corruption. • It also has a financial implication in that government has to pay for such calls received.
MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT) 5.1.5 The call centre must ensure that adequate information is gathered from callers • It is of utmost importance that callers are prompted to provide adequate information that would allow for the effective investigation of allegations. • A checklist to assist operators in prompting callers for relevant information has been provided by the PSC. The PSC is in the process of reviewing the checklist in order to ensure that callers are adequately interrogated by operators at the call center.
CASE MANAGEMENT 5.2 CASE MANAGEMENT BY THE PSC 5.2.1 Case referrals from the case management center • The PSC has established a dedicated unit for the management of case referrals even though sufficient funding for this has not been provided. • The unit analyses each case that is submitted through the CMS to determine which departments are involved and whether there is sufficient evidence to facilitate an investigation. It then summarises each case and advises the PSC on appropriate action.
CASE MANAGEMENT (CONT) 5.2.2 Implications of the capacity of the PSC • The PSC does not have capacity to investigate any of the corruption related cases reported to the Hotline. As indicated, its investigative capacity has been designed to address complaints emanating from the application of its Complaints Rules. • Departments must have the capacity to investigate corruption. • If the PSC had additional investigative capacity it could handle a number of sensitive investigations that are not being followed through by Departments. This would contribute significantly to the effectiveness of the Hotline.
CASE MANAGEMENT (CONT) • Funding for the management of the Hotline was only provided for the outsourcing of the call center. The internal capacity of the PSC to manage case referrals has not been addressed. • Especially within the area of professional ethics, the PSC has had to clamp down on the promotional work that it so successfully performed in the past in order to manage the NACH.
HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS 5.3 HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS BY DEPARTMENTS 5.3.1 Slow feedback from departments on investigation of cases • Departments are submitting feedback on progress with the investigation of cases at a very slow pace. Out of the 2296 cases referred to departments, feedback has only been received on the status of 830 cases. • This raises questions amongst the public about the effectiveness of the Hotline. • The fact that only 6% of cases have been closed on the CMS further reflects very negatively on departmental investigative capacity which must be established in terms of the minimum anti-corruption requirements set by Cabinet.
HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT) 5.3.2 Referral protocols are ineffective • During Hotline workshops in certain provinces, it has emerged that the submission of case reports via the Offices of Directors-General (Premiers’ Offices) creates bottlenecks and causes delays in the provision of such reports to departments. • Whilst the PSC does everything in its ability to refer cases as speedily as possible, the handling of such referrals by Premiers’ Offices causes a delay before the departments or institutions that should be dealing with the relevant cases actually deals with them. • Provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga have achieved comparatively high rates of feedback despite having the same referral protocols as other provinces.
HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT) • At national level, however, it is apparent that the response rate has been the highest from two institutions that must have investigative capacity to execute their mandates, namely the Independent Complaints Directorate and the National Prosecuting Authorities. In the majority of other departments, the response rate has been very poor.
HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT) 5.3.3 Investigative capacity appears to be limited • However, the rate of feedback and the closure of cases on the CMS are not the only indicators against which the PSC measures the investigative capacity of departments. • On numerous occasions cases are referred back to departments for further investigation as critical issues related to such cases have not been adequately addressed. This points to inadequate skills within departments to conduct thorough investigations. • There are departments that provide very comprehensive feedback on cases and professional investigation reports. • The PSC has developed a National Anti-Corruption Hotline Toolkit in order to help Departments in the management of Hotline cases.
MARKETING OF THE HOTLINE 5.4 MARKETING OF THE HOTLINE • Given that the NACH is a relatively new initiative and given that the PSC’s internal capacity to manage the Hotline is limited, it has deliberately not embarked on a wide-spread campaign to market the Hotline. Current teething problems experienced with the management of the Hotline, especially at departmental level, suggest that this was a wise approach.
