CAFRAD 7 th Forum on Modernization of the Public Service and State Institutions June 2011: Rabat, Morocco

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1 CAFRAD 7 th Forum on Modernization of the Public Service and State Institutions June 2011: Rabat, Morocco Hon: Ayanda Dlodlo: Deputy Minister for Public Service & Admin

2 Presentation Outline RSA Constitutional Norms Good Governance underpinned by concerted measures on anti-corruption South Africa s Measures on Good Governance and Anticorruption Ethics, Integrity and professionalism as the bastion of Good Governance and the fight against corruption Key Challenges in ingraining a culture of Good Governance in public discourses Conclusion

3 RSA Constitutional Norms The RSA Constitution is the basis for Good Governance It is founded on the following values: Human dignity, equality, human rights and freedoms: Non-racialism and non-sexism; Supremacy of the constitution and rule of law; Universal suffrage; Accountability, responsiveness and openness DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION

4 Good Governance Structures demo National Objectives Ministerial Responsibility Management Accountability Supervision Control

5 Good Governance underpinned by concerted measures on anti-corruption measures Corruption undermines growth and development by diverting resources away from development programmes; Corruption creates an environment in which the wealthy and the powerful can prey on the vulnerable in societies, It hinders the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Corruption has major financial costs, human security and developmental costs, institutional costs and many other intangible costs. It is an obstacle to economic growth, development and poverty reduction. The continent has responded with a series of policy and legal instruments to tackle the challenges posed by corruption. The African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption provides for the establishment of the Advisory Board on Corruption in Africa.

6 South Africa s Measures on Good Governance and Anti-corruption South Africa has put in place measures to promote ethical conduct within the public sector. These are the measures: The Promotion of Access to information Act The Promotion of Administrative Justice At The Protected Disclosures Act The PFMA and MFMA Code of Conduct for the Public Service The Witness Protection Act The Financial Disclosure Framework for Senior Managers Public Service Anti-corruption Strategy Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION

7 South Africa s Measures on Good Governance and Anti-corruption, cont Before June 2011, there were no companies listed in the Register for Tender Defaulter. In June 2011, the National Treasury blacklisted more than 100 companies for tender irregularities. The names of the companies have been published in the National Treasury website. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION

8 South Africa s Measures on Good Governance and Anti-corruption, cont.. There are very specific leadership roles required from the political and administrative leaders of government institutions. These include the following: not to tolerate unethical conduct to act on allegations through investigation and disciplinary actions. to recover losses and repair weak system to protect and not victimise whistleblowers to make it easy to report corrupt activities require executive authorities to hold heads of department to account for not applying the frameworks. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION

9 Ethics, Integrity and professionalism as the bastion of Good Governance This thinking must be the essence of a value system that underpins our commitment to anticorruption and promoting professional ethics. This is the spirit we must continue to encourage in all sectors of our society as it is necessary for the creation of a socially cohesive and inclusive South Africa and indeed Africa. In order to address values challenges effectively, the wider society in which educational institutions are rooted needs to be transformed along the lines required by core ethical values. There is general consensus that ethics should reach all disciplines and also that it is important to mobilize all sectors of society to tackle corruption and for the promotion of ethics. In the context of the public sector, the employer, employee, and labour unions all have a role to play in this regard.

10 Ethics, Integrity and professionalism as the bastion of Good Governance Cont.. Chapter 10 of the constitution envisions a Public Administration principles and values Professional ethics; Efficiency and effectiveness; Development orientation; Impartial, fair and equitable service delivery; Public Participation; Accountability; Transparency; HRM &D; Representativity Chapter 10 of the constitrion establishes Watchdog Institutions that ensure equity, good governance and ethics Codes of Ethics must be living documents they must be revisited and revised from time to time to ensure they reflect the changing dynamics in society. It is also important to establish a culture of talking about the code of ethics and its core values whenever decisions are made or actions contemplated. The ultimate goal is to internalize the ethical values in your department to such an extent that they are taken into account without even having to think about it. New employees must be made aware during their initial orientation that ethical behaviour is always required and that corruption will never be tolerated. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ADMINISTRATION

11 Key Challenges in ingraining a culture of Good Governance in public discourses Breakdown of basic values systems creating twisted attitudes in favour of wealth accumulation and the get rich culture Lack of strong enforcement capacity Poor leadership Lack of strong institutions

12 Conclusion It must be stressed that without good governance corruption thrives and this undermines growth and development by diverting resources away from development programmes thus increasing poverty, inequality and underdevelopment. Within the context of globalisation, unfettered and unchecked, corruption creates an environment in which the wealthy and the powerful can prey on the vulnerable in all countries, but especially those of the South. We need to remind ourselves that corruption worsens this painful reality, and fundamentally hinders the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals.

13 THE END THANK YOU