The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), under the banner of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum, presents the second of the five-part series of webinars that shine the spotlight on the state of whistleblowing and witness protection in South Africa.

The webinars are an initiative of the SIU together with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS), and the Department of Public Service and Administration, in partnership with Maverick Citizen.

On Sunday 24 October 2021, the webinar will focus on the lives and trials of whistleblowers in South Africa. In this webinar, Mark Heywood will be in conversation with Cynthia Stimpel, who exposed corruption at South African Airways, and Phumla Williams, whose testimony at the Zondo Commission revealed the capture of GCIS.

The webinars follow an adoption of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) by Cabinet in 2020, which has become a blueprint for the country in terms of the approach to fight corruption.

The NACS has six pillars and one of those pillars emphasize the need to promote and encourage active citizenry, whistleblowing, integrity and transparency in all spheres of society.

The NACS has adopted “a whole of government and society approach” in the fight against corruption. This approach requires all sectors of society (public, business, civil society, religious and traditional) to play an active role in improving anti-corruption and integrity regulations. The success of the fight against corruption is largely dependent on whistleblowers who continuously detect and report acts of malfeasance in all sectors of the society. However, the threats and perceived poor protection of whistleblowers remains a big challenge in the fight against corruption.

Source: Government of South Africa