Promoting Ethics in the South African Public Sector: One Block of a Puzzle towards Curbing Corruption

Abstract

There is an increasing debate about ethics as they play a major role in governance in our days. The topic has become famous in all areas of governance. In South Africa, news is dominated by reports of unethical conduct in the public sector. This behaviour creates concerns about people who have an obligation towards safeguarding public funds and other resources. The citizens of a country place their trust in the people who are appointed to serve them, but if those they trust behave in a corrupt and unethical manner, they lose hope. It is, therefore, important to promote ethics in the public sector to restore citizens’ trust and hope. Promoting ethics though alone cannot put an end to corruption can play a certain role in its combating. Encouraging public servants to behave ethically is a way of appealing to their consciousness in reminding themselves of what is wrong and what is right. This chapter through literature review seeks to examine the extent to which ethics can curb corruption and establish how best they can be promoted in an attempt to curb this pandemic of corruption.

1. Introduction

Reports about scandals and moral lapse in South Africa has dominated the news in the recent times. This is due to corrupt activities that the public service officials and their leaders are involved in. These activities have resulted in the decline of living standards in South Africa. This corruption erodes the very same resources that the South African community depends on. As a result, South African citizens have lost trust and confidence in the people that run the public sector. Corruption brings harm to the country’s economic growth and development as it is one of the most corrosive deeds. This pandemic act against the principles of democracy and has a negative impact on delivering services to the people. This is also an enemy of social economic and human development as it is impossible to promote economic growth when resources are directed to individual pockets. Problems in economic growth follow problem of creating employment. When the people do not obtain what is due to them because of corruption as one of the forms of unethical conduct, they lose trust in government. If a country is dominated by corruption, investors will not be kin to invest as they would fear that their investments would be lost through the same channels of corruption. It should also be understood that corruption does not only occur in the public sector as it is also visible in the private sector and other sectors.

National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020–2030, ‘corruption, having permeated key institutions in both the public and private sector, poses a threat to national security, undermines the rule of law and institutions vital to ensuring the centrality of the state as a protector and promoter of the rights of its citizens’. The country has quite a numerous policies that were developed to address issues of corruption but to this date, the country’s breakfast and dinner are about corrupt activities in the government institutions. If all policies, strategies and guidelines are ineffective, what is then left is an appeal to the conscience of the people who are serving the community. Promoting ethics is one block in this puzzle that can be utilised to curb and combat corruption.

2. Legislative framework

There is an extensive number of good legislative frameworks designed to address issues of corruption, ethics, maladministration, etc.

2.1 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996

Chapter 10, Section 195 of the constitution advocates for the following:

1. a public sector that is characterised by promotion and maintenance of high standards of ethics;

2. resources must be used efficiently, economically and effectively;

3. a development-oriented public administration;

4. there must be impartiality, fairness and equitability in the provision of services;

5. services provided must respond to the needs of the people and the public must be encouraged to play an active role in policy-making processes;

6. Accountable public administration

7. information should be provided to the public on time and the information must be accessible to promote transparency;

8. maximise human potential by cultivating good human resource management and career-development practices;

9. employment and personnel management practices must be based on ability, objectivity and fairness.

2.2 Prevention and combating of corruption activities act 12 of 2004

This is the main legislative prescript developed to deal with corruption matters in South Africa. The Act makes provisions for the following:

1. measures to prevent and combat corruption be strengthened;

2. dealing with corruption offences and those offences relating to corrupt activities;

3. measures to investigate corruption and related activities;

4. registers to be established and endorsed to restrict people and businesses convicted of corrupt activities concerning tenders and contracts;

5. people holding positions of authority be obliged to report corrupt transactions;

6. extraterritorial jurisdiction in respect of the offence of corruption and those related to it; and

7. any other matters connected with corruption.

2.3 The protected disclosures act 26 (2000)

This covers employees in both the public and private sectors. Employees are supposed to disclose unlawful and irregular misconduct involving their employer and fellow employees. This act also makes provision for the protection of employees, provides information and makes known the unlawful and irregular as indicated in the Act.

2.4 Whistleblower protection act (2014)

This act aims at the establishment of mechanisms with regards to receipt of complaints that relate to disclosure of allegations of corruption and wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion against any public servant. It also aims to enquire about such disclosure and guard against victimisation of whistleblowers and related matters and other incidents.

2.5 Public service code of conduct

The code of conduct was developed in order to support and bring practicality to the provisions of the constitution relating to the public services. All public service employees are expected to adhere to the code of conduct. The code provides guidelines for what is expected of the employees with regard to ethical conduct. This applies to employees’ individual conduct and their relationship with others. In an attempt to enhance professionalism and ensure confidence, compliance with the code is important.

2.6 Public sector integrity management framework

The framework was introduced to strengthen measures and standards for managing integrity and promoting ethical conduct in the public sector. It entails measures for managing unethical conduct that may arise because of financial interests, gifts, hospitality and other benefits, post-public employment and remunerative work outside the public sector. Further proposals have been made in respect of deployment of ethics officers in the public sector and minimum conduct requirements.

2.7 Public service regulations, 2016

Public Service Regulations, 13 (c) prohibits employees from conducting business with state institutions or directing a public or private company to do business with state institutions. As in the prevention and combating of corruption act, employees are obliged to make known with immediate effect to the relevant persons and any act of unethical conduct that comes to his or her knowledge while serving in public office.

2.8 Public administration management act 2014

Among others, the aim of this Act is to market the essential values and principles governing the general public administration brought up in Section 195(1) of the constitution; to determine the general public administration ethics, integrity and disciplinary technical assistance unit; to assist the Minister to determine minimum norms and standards for public administration and to institute the office of standards and compliance to confirm compliance with minimum norms and standards.

3. Public sector ethics

According to Hallunovi et al. [1], ‘ethics in the public sector is about the practical application of the moral standards in governance’. One needs to understand public sector ethics as the core values and behavioural standards that the public expects from employees, both in the public service and in elected public office bearers. Ethical behaviour is obligatory in public office, as non-adherence to ethical behaviour erodes public trust and brings public office into disrepute (Transparency International). Employees in the public service and office bearers are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical manner. If these officials and office bearers do not adhere to ethical standards, public trust will deteriorate and the public office will be brought to shame. In this manner, the government loses integrity and respect. Public officials make use of their positions to fulfil their selfish interests and greed and that is against any code of ethics. Public officials are the ones that should uphold professional ethics and integrity of government, but in South Africa, they are continually behaving unethically.

4. The state of integrity in the South African public sector

Integrity in the South African public sector is deteriorating every day as reports on maladministration, corruption, nepotism etc., have become breakfast and dinner in the news channels. This means that employees in the public sector have dishonoured their ethical responsibility by conducting themselves in an unacceptable manner. As a result, the public lost trust and confidence in the public sector.

Oosthuizen [2] identified the following as the imperatives that should be given attention:

• Strengthening the ethical foundation of society by building cultural familiarity with values, ethics and principles of common interest.

• Aligning and enhancing the codes, frameworks, systems and monitoring of public management to give expression to higher standards, as outlined in an agreed-upon national ethical foundation.

• Rectifying the collapse of adherence to the law, regulation and norms of good ethical and governance practices in formal institutions.

• Pursuing the first three imperatives within the framework of the constitution and in such a way as to give expression to the constitution’s human rights and equality-orientated conception of society.

5. Corruption in the South African public sector

It is not a secret that corruption is endemic in South Africa. Corruption levels during COVID-19 escalated to their highest levels. Areas where South Africa experiences corruption is at procurement division. The article below forms part of many cases relating to COVID-19 corruption in South Africa.

5.1 COVIV-19 and open access to corruption activities in South Africa

Corruption watch said it had received 4780 reports of graft in 2020 the second-highest tally since it was founded in 2012. Although the pandemic discouraged people from making in-person reports, an average of 11 cases were received each day online, the Johannesburg-based organisation said. Maladministration, procurement corruption and fraud topped the list, with the ‘lucrative’ health sector hardest hit. South Africa struggled to find protective gear for its health workers and other essential equipment for fighting Covid – a scarcity that drove up black-market value. Politicians and those close to them exploited ‘already weak controls in procurement systems across all three spheres of government’, corruption watch said in its report, entitled from crisis to action. “Whilst many were aware of the weakness of both the public and private health facilities, COVID-19 laid bare just how vulnerable the sector truly is”. Africa’s most industrialised economy was already struggling with a reputation for corruption before the onset of the pandemic, with numerous state officials accused or facing trial for presiding over wanton looting.

Corruption watch director David Lewis noted ‘with anger and sadness’ that the corrupt exploited the pandemic at the expense of lives and demanded tougher controls.

South Africa is the worst virus-hit country on the continent. (© AFP 25/32021).

6. Promoting ethics in the South African public sector

Promoting ethics in the South African public sector is ‘one block of a puzzle’ towards curbing corruption. The author understands that ethics alone cannot end corruption but can assist in curbing it. The following are some of the techniques for promoting ethics as identified by the author.

6.1 Provision of effective ethics training

Ethics training for public officials is one of the instruments for building integrity in state institutions and ensuring good quality public governance [3]. Ethics training is important for promoting and enhancing ethical decision making. Effective ethics training should indicate expected objectives that are to be achieved by the training. These objectives must specific and clear. Watts et al. [4] state that “effective ethics training programs are those that demonstrate empirical success so that their objectives are being met”. There are two noteworthy components to this definition. The previous authors also indicated that ‘there are many different types of compliance and ethics training programs with varying objectives’. Differences in objectives may stem from differences in organisational standards, populations, industries or geographic settings [4]. Public sector leaders and employees have to be able to distinguish between the good and the bad and do good. If one is to strengthen ethics and prevents corruption in the public sector, ethics training works as a good tool though it must be utilised with other tools, as it cannot alone be able to produce sustainable results.

6.2 Leading by example or role modelling

Most people want to follow someone who has a strong sense of direction and follows a vision that identifies with them. Leading is not a simple task that one may think it is. People use the term without properly understanding the weight it carries. According to Cherry, ‘to be a leader one needs to incorporate certain attitudes and practices into his or her life, not just improving the life but start to demonstrate the kind of behaviour that people would want to follow and imitate, and that would be leading by example’. A good leader’s mark relies on his or her ability to ‘walk the talk’. This means that a leader should guide other people’s behaviour through his own behaviour instead of using words. Modelling an ethical behaviour will inspire others to do the same. No amount of training can totally lead to individuals behaving ethically in their position. Some behaviour is learned through observing others who display or conduct themselves in a particular manner. It is for this reason that the author of this chapter believes that leading by example or role modelling is one way of promoting ethical behaviour in the public sector. If South African public sector leaders behave in an ethical manner, the likely would is that their followers will follow suit. Manz and Sims among others recognise the importance of leading by example or role modelling as important in effective leadership (1980). In addressing corruption in the South African public sector, there is a need for leadership that leads by example and acts as role models of ethical behaviour.

6.3 Employee integrity testing

OECD [5] indicates that ‘for a state to function effectively, integrity in the public governance is most valuable, for ensuring public trust in the government and for creating conditions for sustainable social and economic development’. Integrity testing is a pre-employment test, which seeks to predict future misbehaviours in the workplace. An employer tries to minimise dishonesty in an organisation by administering integrity tests. This is the method commonly used in the private sector for pre-employment screenings. According to Transparency International [6], these test aim at assessing attitudes and experiences related to a person’s honesty, trustworthiness, reliability and pro-social behaviour.

6.4 Reinforcing ethical behaviour

Employees in this case have to know that there are consequences for every behaviour they display. There is negative and positive reinforcement. Identified by Skinner and colleagues, reinforcement theory of motivation indicates that every individual’s behaviour is a function of its consequences. The theory gives attention to what happens to an individual when he or she behaves in a certain manner [7]. South Africa needs a public sector that commits to ensuring that there are consequences to every behaviour. For example, if an individual employee behaves in an ethical manner and is rewarded or even praised for it, the possibility is the continuity of that behaviour. In this instance, reinforcement occurs after the behaviour. With negative reinforcement for instance, if the manager wants subordinates to behave in an ethical manner, he can indicate that all employees who behave in an undesired manner will lose their bonus. For example, employees may behave in a desired manner likely because no one would want to lose a bonus. Reinforcement is undoubtedly an important variable in determining behaviour and can be used to great effect both in and outside the workplace [8].

6.5 Provision of protective mechanism

The South African public sector requires soundproof protective mechanisms for those who wish to report or make known any unethical behaviour in the workplace. The whistle blower protection Act aims among other things at providing adequate safeguards against victimisation of the person making a such complaint and reporting unethical conduct. Despite the availability of this legislation, employees and citizens who report crime and unethical conduct are still victimised and killed. In keeping with Whitton [9], ‘in the interests of improving accountability and fostering the fight against corruption, some countries have passed laws to establish a right whereby a person may make a protected public interest disclosure of any suspected or actual corruption, misconduct or maladministration by a civil servant or public official’. He further states that the main task of ‘whistleblower’ protection provisions, such as this is to maintain a reasonable and workable balance between encouraging the desirable disclosure of official wrongdoing (by protecting those who make disclosures against acts of reprisal or revenge).

7. The role of leadership in promoting ethics

Mihelič, Bogdan and Tekavčič define leadership as the ability of a follower to want to do the things and activities that the leader sets as goals (2010). Leaders should direct the follower in the direction that he or she wants the follower to go. Leaders have different leadership styles and this will depend on an individual leader’s personality.

Kooskara [10] indicated that leadership is a holistic and value-laden process comprised of different activities that lead to learning, developing, influencing and changing the self and others. Integrity should be the core value that an ethical should uphold. It simply means that a leader should always choose and make the correct decision based on merit regardless of how popular the decision is. Kooskara also argues that ethics is about values and about values-based management, leadership is about a vision: having one and sharing one. Ethical leadership is a combination of righteous goals and righteous behaviour, righteous ends and righteous means and righteous policy and righteous administration, taking a ‘helicopter view’ and developing followers (2012). Moreover, There are certain principles that leaders need to follow. It can be deduced that leadership should adopt ethical behaviour at personal and organisational placing integrity and doing right at the centre of it all. There are certain principles that leadership should follow and these are:

Fairness – Fair treatment is the most important force for effectiveness in the workplace. It creates harmonious relationships in the work environment. When treated fairly, employees will be encouraged to perform. With fairness, all subordinates will have confidence in their leaders, as there is a sense of equity among colleagues in an organisation. Leaders to earn respect of their subordinates should make fair and equitable decisions that are merit-based. Employees should not feel that the decisions made are unjust and unfair. This includes civil servants and public officials in general [9].

Accountability – This is the most important and key feature of good governance. Accountability cannot be separated from the person occupying a position of responsibility, nor of the context [11]. Every official in a position of accountability must take responsibility for his or her actions or inactions. Chapter 10, Section 195 (1) (f) of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa advocates for a public administration that is accountable. This means that those in the public sector should be accountable for their actions and inactions.

Trust – Trust in leadership is very important as those who look up to that leadership will have confidence in them. If a leader is trustworthy, then the follower will develop confidence towards that leader. South Africa needs trustworthy leadership that is committed to serving the community as against fulfilling their selfish needs.

Honesty – People expect honest leadership in running the affairs of the public. When led by dishonest people, the community develops mistrust and becomes hopeless. People lose faith in dishonest leadership and will not know whom to depend on or where to turn to.

Equality – Equality is one of the democratic and social value, which ensures that there is equal treatment in the workplace. South Africa is experiencing inequalities due to the imbalances that were created by the apartheid regime and it is important that those gaps must be closed. Equality is also important in ensuring that there is peace in the workplace. No employee should be discriminated against because of his or her race, gender, sexual preference, etc.

Respect – it is important for a leader to show respect to others. This enables other to see their value and their worth as individuals with uniqueness. A leader who respects will also be respected. Leaders need to acknowledge that their subordinates have opinions and views and they are also creative in their own right. As a result, they would be expecting their leaders to respect their individualism and independence. Employees should be given a chance to voice out their views and also be allowed to form a part of the decision-making processes.

Integrity – Integrity sustains the effectiveness and dignity of an organisation. It encompasses quite a number of other values, which include among others, honesty and trust. Leaders who promote integrity in their organisation build confidence in the community. It is without a doubt that employees that are led with integrity will uphold a high standard of professional ethics and a society that is served by ethical leadership will gain confidence in the leadership and the institution it runs. It is, therefore, very important that public sector leaders conduct themselves in an ethical manner and with integrity for the betterment of the society.

8. Conclusion

It is not a secret that the South African public sector is discoloured by corruption. Corruption is one element of unethical conduct that eats away public resources. South Africa has a good legislative framework that is developed to assist in addressing issues of unethical conduct in the country. These prescripts are all good on paper but implementing them becomes a major problem. Promoting ethics is one block that can assist in this whole puzzle of trying to address corruption. Suggestions are made of how ethics can be promoted in order to create a trustworthy, fair, honest and respectful public sector that has integrity. It is important that the leadership in government institutions and entities model an ethical behaviour so that their subordinates can follow. This may result in citizens gaining confidence and trust towards government.