Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela appealed to South Africans on Thursday to become active citizens in an effort to promote good corporate governance.

She was speaking at an event organised by the Johannesburg Press Club at Wits Business School, where she was also the recipient of the Newsmaker of the Year Award for 2012.

Madonsela urged South Africans to stop pointing fingers and rather identify “our respective roles in causing the maladministration and corruption”, while also acknowledging citizen’s roles in helping the country resolve these problems.

“How far would we go as a nation if we held people entrusted with public power accountable for all wrongful acts, and not just those that affect us personally?” she asked.

She noted that, where there was corruption, it was principally a matter of collusion between private persons and state actors. “Clearly, a lot of the corruption that concerns us as a nation involves huge amounts of money, particularly in the state procurement system.”

However, Madonsela stated that there was one area where all ordinary citizens could make a difference on a day-to-day basis. This was in the area of petty corruption or retail corruption. “What about thinking twice next time before bribing a traffic officer, health or environmental inspector?  We could also heed calls such as those of Corruption Watch and the Minister for Public Service and Administration, to do something about corruption. When we see something we must not look the other way,” she urged.

She noted that several of those involved in acts of corruption and other wrongdoing in the exercise of State power were being arrested because of people who did something when they saw wrongdoing. “Some have done so at the cost of their jobs and, a few, their lives. It is for this reason that, as one of the guardians of the Protected Disclosures Act and the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, we have persistently called for the strengthening of whistle-blower protection,” she said.

Madonsela noted that citizens could do more than just pointing fingers, by joining organisations such as Corruption Watch, a civil society initiative that is slowly but surely entrenching itself as a serious corruption-buster.

“The efforts of LeadSA and Crime Line are also worth noting. These organisations are doing more than finger-pointing regarding their concerns on matters such as crime and corruption. They are mobilising citizens to take responsibility for being part of the solution.”

In illustrating ways in which ordinary citizens could address injustices, Madanosela said, “Many citizens and residents already work with my office in the pursuit of good governance and, in the process, the strengthening of constitutional democracy. Some take their concerns to the media with many of these ending up as the subject of complaints lodged with my office.”

Citizens also needed to work with the many other institutions that attempt to stem maladministration within the State in its different forms. These included the Auditor General, the South African Human Rights Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Special Investigating Unit and the Hawks, besides others.