Employment and Labour embraces a culture of zero tolerance towards corruption
The Department of Employment and Labour welcomes the arrest of one of its officials in Germiston on Friday, 04 November 2022, for allegedly demanding “spot fines” from a construction company for apparently failing to comply.
Thobile Lamati, Director General for Employment and Labour, stated, “As a department, we will accelerate internal processes for consequence management and triumphantly enforce good governance principles to ensure that corrupt individuals face consequences within the department. The Department regards this as a critical and effective step toward eliminating fraud and corruption within the department.”
“It is unfortunate that the case against the department official is related to corrupt practices. However, rest assured that the department is doing everything in its power and authority to bring whoever is responsible to justice.
The Department would like to emphasise that corruption, wherever it occurs, represents a decline in our nation’s value system. If left unchecked, it poses a serious threat to democratic values as well as our aspiration to be an ethical and developing state.
Individuals motivated by greed commit corruption when they steal state, business, and civil society resources intended to grow the economy, eliminate poverty, and ensure the achievement of development goals.
“This scourge has become endemic in South Africa. It erodes democracy and has a negative impact on service delivery, human and socioeconomic development, job creation, public trust in government, and investor confidence in the country,” alluded Lamati.
Corruption, which has infiltrated key institutions in both the public and private sectors, endangers national security and undermines the rule of law and institutions critical to ensuring the state’s centrality as a protector and promoter of its citizens’ rights.
To address the scourge of corruption and demonstrate the commitment of government, business, and civil society to achieving the vision of the National Development Plan 2030 of a corruption-free South Africa, and a society in which key values such as integrity, transparency, and accountability guide the actions and behaviour of its citizens, anti-corruption efforts must be coordinated across sectors.
As a Department, we value active citizens who can hold anyone accountable by reporting corrupt activities. We envision a society in which all members have zero tolerance for corruption. This is a vision that can be realised if we band together in a social compact to combat this enemy on all fronts with practical measures and targeted efforts.
“The department has zero tolerance for corruption and extortion, particularly if the perpetrator is a Department employee, and we are fully committed to our international obligations that seek to mobilize the global community to fight corruption on all fronts,” Lamati concluded.
Source: Government of South Africa