INLSA
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe. Picture: Matthews Baloyi
Cape Town –
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe’s pledge to name and shame government officials found guilty of corruption is a step in the right direction, but he should go a step further and expose those who resign before they are convicted, says Corruption Watch.
And the DA has called for corrupt politicians to be named to ensure they were not “redeployed” to other departments and cannot continue to get government work.
The party and the NGO were reacting to Radebe’s announcement that officials found guilty of corruption would be named “so the public will know these rotten apples of South African society”.
Radebe said the idea was to link individuals to corruption, and not just mention the number of corruption cases.
“If you can attach a number to an actual person, you will realise that this fight against corruption, we do it in a meaningful way,” he said.
Radebe said that since 2010, 237 people had been arrested for corruption, 32 convicted and two acquitted. The other 203 cases were still before court.
David Lewis, executive director of Corruption Watch, said that while naming and shaming was plausible, it was not enough. The number of those convicted remained very low, with far too many officials opting to resign during disciplinary action, only to be rehired by other government departments or provinces.
Such officials should also be named, and more should be convicted, Lewis said.
“There are many who are not charged in court, but subjected to disciplinary proceedings over which a veil of secrecy is thrown. These often take years to finalise while officials are suspended on full pay,” he said.
This practice was particularly common at local government level, where Corruption Watch data from the previous year had revealed a high rate of corruption. Out of more than 1 200 cases reported last year, 22 percent had involved corruption in municipalities.
“We have found that schools are another area of rampant corruption. We will be combining the municipal focus with investigations into school corruption,” said Lewis.
Labour federation Cosatu, a key backer of Corruption Watch, welcomed Radebe’s announcement.
“This is a major step forward in the war against corruption. Making the names public will make potential offenders think twice before ripping off their fellow South Africans if they know that their family, friends and neighbours will find out what they have done,” said Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven.
Debbie Schafer, DA spokeswoman on justice, said while any move to combat corruption was welcome, Radebe had not said what other steps would be taken to ensure convicted officials would not be “redeployed” to other government departments or continue to get work from the state.
“Most important, the minister did not explain why it is only corrupt officials who have been convicted so far. What about the corrupt politicians who simply evade prosecution because they are part of the correct faction of the governing party?” she asked.
She raised concerns about some ANC MPs who were involved in the 2005 Travelgate scandal who were still in Parliament, with some chairing parliamentary committees, despite their admission of guilt.
Mthunzi Mhaga, a spokesman for Radebe, clarified that not only government officials would be targeted by the name-and-shame initiative, but “anyone who has been convicted of corruption and fraud in a court of law”, regardless of political status.
Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said last week that her department would keep a database of all government officials found with their hands in the till.
Political Bureau
