Keynote address by the Chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Forum, Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi at the third National Anti-Corruption Summit, Boksburg

Chairperson, Premier of Gauteng, Mr Mbazima Shilowa
Members of the National Anti-corruption Forum
Members of the national, provincial and local governments
Members of the Business Community
Civil Society Representatives
Your Excellencies representing the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed

Corruption reinforces the banality of evil and its conceit lies in its ability to implicate, its complicity, its ability to violate the laws of nation states, flout international conventions and treaties and undermine democratic values and the democratic ethos. It thrives among those who subscribe to Thomas Hobbes ' view that "the basic condition of man is a condition of war of every one against every one; that in such a condition every man has a right to everything; even to another's body."(Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Collier Macmillan, 1974, p 103)

But is this really the value system conferred on us from time immemorial? If we agree with Hobbes, then corruption is nothing more than an extension of this natural right in a world where we are at war with each other. This logic, much vaunted even today, seeks to justify a world in which wealth, profitability and conspicuous consumption is pursued by individuals and corporations at all costs. Hobessian logic negates the very existence of an alternate value system based on the principles of ubuntu, humanity, caring and compassion towards others.

Corruption is anarchy that has been loosed upon the world in which we live. Chinua Achebe and many other writers in Africa including Ngugi WaThiongo and Ousmane Sembene all point to the importance of fighting corruption because it erodes the social fabric, undermines community and perpetuates poverty, inequality and underdevelopment. For these reasons alone, we must be resolute and steadfast in our fight against corruption in all spheres of society.

Corruption has been manifest in all historical epochs. It was Plato who warned us to "do no service for a present", and Aristotle who said that "we become just by doing just acts". What both Aristotle and Plato are addressing is corruption of values, the corruption of the soul of the nation, the institutions of democracy and the corruption of the individual. But more they are actually speaking loudly and vociferously about those who either in the spirit of triumphalism or in backlash against progressive ideas and the reality of transformation seeks to undermine the values upon which we have built our democracy.

Robert Klitgaard, a former professor at the University of Natal, uses the Guatemalan experience to reflect on corruption and its pervasive influence on values: "When in a society the shameless triumph, when the abuser is admired, when principles end and only opportunism prevails, when the insolent rule and the people tolerate it; when everything becomes corrupt but the majority is quiet because their slice is waiting. When so much "whens" unite, perhaps it is time to hide oneself, time to suspend the battle; time to stop being a Quixote: it is time to review our activities, re-evaluate those around us, and return to ourselves."

As we reflect on the root causes of corruption in the contemporary era we must return to the central values which have shaped our struggle for national liberation, the democracy we have built and the historic transformation project we have undertaken. Those on the left or on the right who accuse this government of nepotism, of racism, of sexism and of not being quick enough to transform the institutions of governance and administration and who do so without a shred of evidence to support their assertions need to reflect seriously on the unwitting corruption of our ideals and values.

It was the Freedom Charter, which succinctly articulated the values of our democracy when it proclaimed that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people"; and that "our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities."

The values of equality, social justice, the right to rule based on the legitimate will of the people, service to the people without fear or favour, transformation of all the institutions of injustice, and transformation of a public service, are all embedded in the Freedom Charter. These values formed the basis of our struggle for national liberation and they inform our democracy and our democratic practice today. And the Freedom Charter, with immense foresight said "All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country"; is this not about transformation to which this government has been deeply committed?

When the Freedom Charter says "All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country" it is referring to the radical transformation of public administration and in particular:

* That the public service must reflect the demographic make up of the population that it serves and in fifteen years I can confidently say we have transformed the administration with a swiftness that is unquestionable and transformation will continue apace.

* That a democratic ethos must inform the values of public servants and as Plato says they must "do no service for a present". Again I say with confidence these are the principles of "Batho Pele" which we seek to instil in all public servants. These principles include putting people first, being open, transparent and honest and not corrupt.

* The administration of the state must work to advance the core values of our country - the values of non-sexism, non-racism. It must consciously eschew all forms of chauvinism and discrimination both in service delivery and in hiring of personnel.

It is this essence of the Freedom Charter that has found its way into our Constitution which is transformative and speaks of recognising "the injustices of our past". But this recognition brings with it obligations for the state and for public administration. In adopting the Constitution the state has to heal the wounds of the past, respect democracy; rule based on the will of the people; respect fundamental freedoms and human rights and improve the quality of life of all the people of South Africa and realise the vision of a non racial, non-sexist democratic and prosperous South Africa where the wealth and assets of the country are more equitably shared by all.

The Constitution like the Freedom Charter proclaims the equality of all and is highly transformative for it recognises that "to promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken". This is about making both public and private institutions representative of the people being served by these institutions.

The importance of governance and administration based on democratic principles including the rule of law and administrative law finds its most cogent expression in the Constitution. And specifically with respect to public administration the Constitutions in S195. Basic values and principles governing public administration, enjoins us as follows:
1. Public administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, including the following principles:

a. A high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained.
b. Efficient, economic and effective use of resources must be promoted.
c. Public administration must be development-oriented.
d. Services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias.
e. People's needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making.
f. Public administration must be accountable.
g. Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information.
h. Good human-resource management and career-development practices, to maximise human potential, must be cultivated.
i. Public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation.

As a country we need to guard against the corruption of our values and we must exercise vigilance over self proclaimed guardians who corrupt our democratic ethos by labelling those they disagree with as sexist, racist and engaging in practices of nepotism. Corruption does not only take the form of the cash nexus it takes the form corruption of values.

Early in our democracy when he was still Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki decried this very form of corruption at the 1998 anti-corruption Summit when he said: "The culture of entitlement, so prevalent in our community, has contributed to the "name it, claim it" syndrome where individuals seek an elusive moral justification for engaging in criminal activity.

The deepening crisis in public values is largely visible in the lack of professional conduct from so many wearing the badge of public honour in the civil service. To meet the challenge of stemming the tide of corruption we need to march to the tune of a new song, the song of regeneration and rebirth, the song of our renaissance, the song signalling the birth of the "new public servant".

At the Africa Forum on Anti Corruption in March 2007, we outlined seven important premises related to corruption. The first premise is that while corruption manifests itself in the relationship between individuals and institutions, corruption as a practice is rooted in the operation of market forces, the pursuit of individual prosperity and gain as opposed to the common good. This possessive individualism has undermined the goals and objectives of national and community level development.

Our second premise is that corruption is fundamentally undemocratic; it undermines the legitimacy and credibility of democratically elected governments and of responsible and accountable civil servants.

The third premise is that corruption is about the interface of political and economic elites at a global, national and regional scale.

Our fourth premise is that the intentional preoccupation in the global corruption discourse with bribe takers and bribe givers and particularly with bribe takers is disingenuous, ideologically loaded, and simplistic and certainly serves other agendas that are not linked to developmental goals. This discourse needs to be challenged precisely because it overlooks the complexity of the social forces, systems, processes and structures which underpin acts of corruption. It also needs to be challenged because as democratic states in Africa continue to strengthen the fight against poverty and underdevelopment, this preoccupation detracts from the broad goals of development.

The fifth premise is that corruption is a direct impediment to Africa's development. Corruption hurts the many and benefits the few. It inhibits the ability of government to respond to citizens ' needs and to utilise scarce resources in the most efficient and effective manner. It takes away resources from priority areas such as health, social development and education. It also hampers the continent's efforts to instil sound political, socio-economic and corporate governance.

The sixth premise is that corruption is systemic, and the focus must therefore be on effects rather than intentions. The effect of corruption is that it undermines the value system, the norms and the very cohesion of society. It may not be the intention of the corrupter to engage in practices that undermine the values of the nation state and the values of community; but it has this effect, regardless of intent. Corruption distorts and undermines the value systems of all societies and their peoples and possessive individualism overrides any sense of the common good.

The seventh premise is that an anti-corruption strategy must be articulated by leaders in the political, economic and civil society spheres and must engage all sectors of society on the basis of a core set of leadership practices and values. If, as we have argued, corruption has a deep and lasting impact on the very core values of society, then an anti-corruption strategy must articulate an alternative ethos and value system.

Corruption engenders perverse political dependencies, lost political opportunities to improve the general well being of the citizenry and fosters a climate of mistrust particularly of public officials. The losses that accrue from a culture of permissiveness with respect to corruption include a loss of revenue, loss of trust, loss of values, loss of credibility and legitimacy and a loss of the democratic ethos and impulse within institutions and organisations.

Corruption erodes the "common good" and the "People's Contract".

Under conditions of democracy, the state needs to take the lead in combating, preventing, managing and eliminating corruption. The political cost of corruption is that it undermines democracy, weakens the developmental state and undermines responsibility, accountability and legitimacy.

In eroding the "People's Contract", corruption alienates citizens from the very officials they have elected and also alienates people from each other. Corruption weakens democratic processes, public order and undermines the ability to fight for reform. Corruption destroys trust and erodes both the sense of global citizenship and the sense of shared responsibility as well as national citizenship and the sense of social cohesion.

Developmental states are about the interface between the political, economic and the bureaucratic elites. Democracy keeps politicians honest and accountable while sound corporate governance and systems of accountability keep the economic and bureaucratic elites honest. Central to the developmental state is the strong interface between key state actors, institutions, business and civil society. As the developmental infrastructure is created, the interface intensifies, and there must be requisite levels of trust to ensure that public goods and resources are well managed and not squandered. The interfaces between politics, economics and the bureaucracy must be kept clean.

Critical to this is firstly reclaiming a value system that sees the individual as part of a broader community. In the South African context we talk about ubuntu. In kiSwahili we talk about ujamaa, the values that relate to neighbourliness and utu, possessing the values of a human being, humanity and co-operation.

The word ubuntu comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. A rough translation in English could be "humanity towards others." Ubuntu also means "I am what I am because of who we all are". The Zulu maxim is umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu ("a person is a person through other persons"). Ubuntu is "The belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity."

By combining the many complementary meanings of Ubuntu, we are in fact saying that we are human by virtue of doing for others and not just ourselves. This must be the essence of a value system that underpins our commitment to anti-corruption. This is the spirit we must continue to encourage in all sectors of our society. This is the spirit that is necessary for the creation of a socially cohesive and inclusive Africa.

Secondly, we need strong robust democracies where all sectors of society including the media and organisations of civil society, private sector, trade unions and faith based organisations have a responsibility to educate and promote the values of ubuntu and anti-corruption.

Thirdly, there is the need for the establishment of a professional meritocratic public service that is able to uphold the values and principles of democracy, good governance and ubuntu.

Government intervention in the economy to promote development implies extensive interaction between politicians, bureaucrats and business people. The interaction could take the form of collaboration, collusion and corruption, or all of these. The experience of developmental states across the globe has problematic the close relationship between government and business. It can be seen as benign collaboration or crony capitalism or corruption. In pursuing a development agenda the collaboration between government and business is critical, because information exchange is a prerequisite for effective policy formation and implementation.

A professional, meritocratic bureaucracy is a key condition for preventing collaboration from degenerating into collusion and corruption. But the bureaucracy itself must also be steeped in a strong code of conduct and a code of ethics. These codes need to be implemented and rigorously enforced. Similar codes must be established, implemented and rigorously enforced for elected officials and for the corporate sector.

The public interest which is central to public administration has to be an integral part of the democratic process. The standard by which we address the public good is the dual imperative of historical redress and socio-economic improvements in the well being of all our people. Judged against this dual imperative, public servants are under a constitutional obligation to assess their performance and conduct as well as their discretionary powers against their effectiveness in meeting the moral imperative that is, serving the public with integrity and free of corruption. But this also requires an examination and re-examination of performance and this kind of introspection allows one to get at the corruption of values and allow for an honest assessment of service to the people.

Corruption is more likely to be found under conditions where policy failures have increased redistributive pressures to address inequality than where development policies have been successfully implemented by a meritocratic bureaucracy, thus decreasing inequality. The deepening of democratic institutions is likely to reduce corruption due to enhanced monitoring and accountability mechanisms. These are critical elements of National Integrity systems that link values and principles of good governance with the institutional structures and practices that give effect to these values.

Good governance is a prerequisite to preventing and combating corruption, while corruption undermines good governance. Corruption can therefore be viewed as a governance challenge. The concept of a National Integrity System is fundamental to the development of an anti-corruption discourse. It comprises the building blocks necessary for the long-term fight against corruption and other forms of unethical and anti-social behaviour. Its core elements are constituted by a society's value system.

The National Integrity System's values must permeate the structures, practices and principles of the state, the corporate sector and civil society. These values include accountability, transparency, equity, efficiency, developmental, and fundamental rights and freedoms including freedom of speech, access to information, democracy and participation.

A national integrity system must of necessity be built on the following:

1. A strong code of ethics in the workplace.
2. The political will to enforce this ethos.
3. Transparency and accountability of public servants both for the service deliverer and for their work ethic - for to work inefficiently and ineffectively while our people stand interminably in line ups is to be unethical.
4. Rewarding exemplary conduct.
5. Managers should lead by example and they must abide by the highest of ethical standards.
6. Subjecting misconduct should to disciplinary sanctions.
7. The training of public servants in integrity, conflict of interest and a democratic ethos should be a high priority.
8. The training of public servants in both administrative and constitutional law.
9. According a high priority to the public interest and serving the public.

These are the essential preconditions for the elimination of corruption, conflicts of interest and malpractice in the public sector. As President Mbeki said "Recent years have seen corruption become the misdirected juggernaut of society. In our country, it has succeeded in infesting our shared value system with moral decay and winning the hearts and minds of many a public servant. Not only those who exercise public power but large sections of the citizenry as well have been engulfed by the corrupting tentacles of this wayward beast that is threatening to destroy the soul of our nation and the very basis of our democracy."

The entire organisational culture of the public sector must move from a sanctions based system to one based on administrative and Constitutional law and on integrity, honesty and transparency. The public interest and public trust must be constantly reaffirmed in the process of good governance. Sound administrative values of probity, trust, justice and fairness must be integrated in the daily work ethic of public servants.

The successful practice and implementation of a national integrity framework is predicated on strong leadership and the ability of leaders to set a vision, based on the values of the society. This Government can create such a national integrity framework through laws systems and structures, but ultimately there needs to be on the part of leadership, a voluntary submission to a higher code of probity, which goes beyond strictly legal prescriptions.

This submission to a moral code ensures that institutions do not become vacuous without direction or purpose. Ethical behaviour, while highly desirable, respected and valued, cannot be assumed. This is why specific measures and institutions to safeguard integrity and to promote ethics are necessary. The lack of these measures and institutions, or their ineffective implementation and functioning, opens the way for all manner of unethical behaviour, including corruption. A national integrity framework therefore provides both the institutional and philosophical basis for both enforcement and preventive action against corruption.

South Africa understands corruption to be a societal problem, which affects all sectors of society differentially. Repositioning the discourse on corruption requires us to go beyond the simple corrupter-corrupted relationship. We need to reflect on this as we build democracy and promote economic growth and development in order to create a better life for all our people. Corruption compromises democratic political process and generates apathy and disengagement amongst citizens.

The principles of democratic administration, transparency, accountability and the rule of law form the basis of a more comprehensive understanding of corruption. Within the public sector the South African ethos of Batho Pele, "citizens first", is being progressively entrenched amongst public servants to ensure that they become service oriented and understand their role in providing essential services to the people of South Africa.

There is an onus on leadership, to articulate and sketch a vision based on the values of a society and to design programmes to give meaning and content to this vision. Strong leadership in all sectors political, economic, administrative and civil society- must be based on integrity and through example must give concrete expression to the codes of good practice contained within the National Integrity System.

Our approach is multi-faceted and strategies to combat corruption include prevention, education and awareness as well as detection and the enhancement of capacity of the law enforcement agencies and other institutions fighting corruption.

The multi-sectoral approach we have adopted in fighting corruption has enhanced partnerships between and among government, business and civil society sectors and contributed to anti-corruption reform in South Africa. The role of civil society is integral to a national integrity system, and should contribute to mobilising and raising awareness about the impact of corruption on democracy, ethics and development. Civil society must in all respects be part of designing the anti-corruption measures that we put in place. The leadership that a national integrity system requires puts the responsibility on this sector to function according to the highest standards of integrity.

The support from representatives of the private sector is particularly important as corruption occurs at the interface of the public and the private sectors. Business participation is critical in the fight against corruption and to ensure the highest standards of ethical and responsible business practices.

The national integrity system can assist in curtailing corrupt and unethical practices. Chapter nine of our Constitution makes provision for State institutions that have a critical role to play in consolidating the national integrity system. These institutions include the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights, the Commission for Gender Equality, the Auditor General and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.

The Public Service Commission has also been very instrumental in promoting the constitutionally enshrined democratic principles and values in the public service through investigating, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on public administration. In addition, the role Parliament and the Judiciary is paramount to building our national integrity system.

The Department of Public Service and Administration has commenced with the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation programme to assist in providing accurate, reliable and timely data on anti-corruption measures. The Department has also completed the assessment of the effectiveness of the national anti-corruption framework over the last two years and the report will be released soon.

South Africa has ratified numerous international conventions in line with our determination to promote our national anti-corruption values and interests throughout the world and to create a modern economy that is competitive and able to respond industriously and productively to the needs of our people.

As a member of the international community, we have domesticated the international agreements of the SADC, the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on the Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transaction. All these instruments recognise the inter-relatedness of sectors in the prevention and eradication of corruption within all sectors of society. The ratification of these legal instruments signals our commitment and dedication to fighting corruption.

Like all other countries we will strive towards the full implementation of these agreements. Civil society and business will play a prominent role in assisting Government to implement and monitor application of these instruments. Government must ensure access to information and levels of transparency required for the credibility of the monitoring process.

Though not perfect, the South African national integrity system has come a long way since 1994. It is now necessary to ensure that this system is nurtured and protected as the challenges it faces are manifold. The integrity of political, administrative and judicial systems remains central in the construction of our national integrity system and we must guard against erosion of this integrity..
The deepening of democracy and the strengthening of governance institutions are likely to reduce corruption because of enhanced transparency, monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

These are critical elements of the national integrity system that link values and principles of good governance with the institutional structures and practices that give effect to these values. Research shows that our people feel that we are not doing enough to fight corruption. On occasion they find themselves in situations were they had to pay for government services they are entitled to.

This is simply unacceptable. A Public Sector Summit will be held this year in consultation with public sector unions to devise strategies to enhance service delivery. The Public Sector Summit will address the role of public servants in service delivery and the relationship between poor service delivery and corruption.

I would like to acknowledge initiatives such as Know Your Services Rights launched by our Government early this year. This initiative is instrumental in educating and creating awareness about the rights of our people to services provided by Government. The National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) launched an awareness and communications campaign in 2007 and 2008. The aim is to create awareness around our anti-corruption legal framework. This initiative of the NACF is highly commended, as is its many other achievements since the last national Summit.

I trust that this important Summit will help us in coming up with new and vibrant plan of work with defined responsibilities and accountability arrangements that will allow the NACF to rise to the challenge of a national consensus against corruption. Most importantly, the work plan should include indicators to assess the efficacy of the NACF as an inter-sectoral mechanism to raise awareness, prevent and fight corruption.

We are also well on course to implement recommendations of the African Peer Review mechanism to improve our good governance structures. South Africa has opened its doors to public scrutiny through various peer review mechanisms. We have received our phase one examination report from the OECD Working Group on bribery and I can gladly say we have much to be proud of. We are looking forward to the phase two assessment and we are confident that we will be once again be found to be ethical and competitive.

We have also shown our commitment to assist our African counterparts in fighting corruption. This assistance is critical if we are to consolidate the African agenda. It is against this backdrop, that we have singed and are implementing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to assist in its transition to democracy and consolidation thereof. With South Africa as chair the Bureau of the Pan African Meeting of National Anti-corruption Bodies progress is being made with the implementation of the anti-corruption plan of work of this AU structure.

This Summit paves the way for the development of the second National Anti-corruption Programme that President Mbeki referred to in his State of the Nation address earlier this year. The programme will be developed from the resolutions of this Summit. The second National Anti-corruption Programme, if adequately implemented will be key to the consolidation of our national integrity framework.

Conclusion

We can all agree that corruption undermines democracy and negatively impacts on sustainable growth and development. The most effective antidote to corruption therefore has to be a strengthened National Integrity System that puts issues of good governance in all the spheres of society (the political sphere, the corporate sector and in civil society) at the very heart of the anti-corruption project. The perception discourse that focuses on the corrupted and the discourse of blame that focuses on the North do little to illuminate the complexities hidden beneath the surface.

They are simplistic and glib and avoid a more holistic approach that is structural and systemic and looks at social forces that are conjectural. A structural approach to corruption is a far better point of entry into the debate for it locates corruption precisely at the interface between the public and private sectors and thus allows us to focus our attention more sharply on the critical issues that confront us today.

As we engage more rigorously in our analysis of corruption, let us imagine a world that exists without corruption. Let us exercise leadership and judgement in the building of a world that rests on the principles of ubuntu. This is not an impossibility it must be our reality.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Public Service and Administration
4 August 2008