To fight corruption and promote clean governance, integrity and ethics, the Gauteng provincial government (GPG) has established a civil society-led Ethics and Anti-Corruption Advisory Council.
Premier David Makhura said the establishment of the council was a “great step” in efforts to eradicate corruption and promote integrity and ethics in the public sector, adding that it would become the anticorruption watchdog of the province and help the GPG to more effectively deal with corruption whenever it occurs.
“This is the first initiative of its kind in South Africa. As the Gauteng government, we want to subject ourselves to scrutiny by civil society on how we are doing in building an ethical culture and fighting fraud and corruption in our province,” said Makhura.
The ten-member team is made up of representatives from civil society, business, academia and community structures, including South African Institute of Chartered Accountants CEO Dr Terence Nombembe, who is chairperson of the council; Advocate Fariyal Mukaddam, who is deputy chairperson of the council; Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis; Ethics Institute CEO Professor Deon Rossouw; and Moral Regeneration Movement chairperson Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa.
The council will make recommendations to the executive council and legislature’s integrity commissioner on appropriate measures and actions to enhance ethics, integrity and accountability in the public sector.