Parliament, Thursday 9 March 2017 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation supports the push by the government’s governance and administration cluster to fully implement the revised Code of Conduct for public service employees.
The Revised Code of Conduct, which came into effect on 1 August 2016, seeks to prohibit public servants from doing any form of business with organs of state, whether in their own capacity as individuals or through companies in which they are directors. The 2016 Public Regulations provided for a transitional arrangement enabling public servants who were doing business with the state to either resign from the public service or relinquish their business interest by the 31st of January 2017. “Now that the transitional period has lapsed, the Committee encourages executive authorities and accounting officers to make sure that the regulations are adhered to,” said Dr Makhosi Khoza, the Chairperson of the Committee.
Since the inception of the 5th Parliament, the Committee has always called for the regulation regarding the trend of public servants doing business with the state. It has always been the Committee’s view that this practice undermines good governance prescripts and the ethical standard within which government must do its work.
“The practice has in many instances undermined government’s ability to deliver quality services, as in many instances companies connected to public servants got business they were not equipped to deliver. These regulations will surely help avoid such challenges and ensure quality services to South Africans,” Dr Khoza emphasised.
The Committee further welcomes the announcement regarding the extension of the category of employees who will now be required to declare their financial interests as per the Financial Disclosure Framework. The following public servants will also be required to declare, namely; middle managers, employees in the supply chain management unit and those working in finance units, ethics officers as well as employees of the Office of the Public Service Commission who verify financial interests disclosed by Senior Management Services members.
The Committee encourages the maximum use of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH) as it will open a direct line to authorities and will empower them to fight corruption.
The Committee is clear that there is a pressing need for a change in culture within the public service if the country is to achieve the vision of a professional public service as espoused by the National Development Plan. “The quality of services provided by the public service will only improve when public servants understand the importance of this service,” Dr Khoza concluded.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SSERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION/MONITORING AND EVALUATION, DR MAKHOSI KHOZA
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