Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner Advocate Anele Gxoyiya has called on all public servants to come out and expose corruption, saying they will be protected accordingly, in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act.
“Public servants know what is right and wrong in the workplace, in terms of their employment contract," Gxoyiya said.
Addressing media in Pretoria on the Quarterly Bulletin titled, 'The Pulse of the Public Service', Gxoyiya said ethical dilemmas can arise when employees are pressured to compromise their values in order to meet work demands or when they witness unethical behavior by some colleagues or superiors and feel powerless to intervene.
“The fear of reprisal or punishment for speaking out against such wrongdoing often adds another layer of complexity to these ethical dilemmas,” Gxoyiya said.
Gxoyiya said the Zondo Commission exposed a lot of unethical behavior in the Public Service and State Owned Entities which must be investigated by the Law Enforcement Agencies.
“The PSC welcomed the signing of a proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa in August 2023, which authorizes the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe allegations of corruption in Tembisa Hospital. This is a step in the right direction.
“Public servants are required to promote professional ethics in their conduct during the performance of their duties, when interacting with members of the public and when managing state resources.
“Public servants have the obligation to account for their actions. It is therefore for this reason that all government employees should internalize the CVPs in their day-to-day work towards contributing to an ethical and corrupt free Public Service,” Gxoyiya said.
Gxoyiya said the Public Service Commission has, at the end of June 2023, registered 184 grievances, including 114 carried over from the previous financial year.
Of the 184 grievances, 24 (13%) were not properly referred and 160 (87%) were properly referred. Grievances which were not properly referred are those that were either being dealt with elsewhere (such as bargaining councils) or those that were still not finalized at the departmental level.
Gxoyiya said departments and organized labour are encouraged to consider mediation as an alternative means of resolving matters of conflict as this is mutually beneficial for the relationship between the parties.
“The PSC has the mandate to investigate, either of its own accord or on receipt of any complaint, personnel and public administration practices to report to the relevant EAs and Legislature.
“The own accord investigations undertaken are identified through an analysis of the trends of the complaints handled previously and through media reports,” Gxoyiya said.
Gxoyiya said the PSC’s intervention and proposed corrective measures are essential in promoting good governance in public administration.
The PSC noted that most of its investigations yielded positive results on improving good governance and accountability in the Public Service. In issuing recommendations, the PSC encouraged departments to maintain the principles conferred in section 195(1) of the Constitution.
Source: South African Government News Agency