CAPE TOWN, JUNE 15, 2001
The Minister for Public Service and Administration and other Ministers present
The Premier of the Western Cape
The Chairperson of the Public Service Commission
Members of the National Anti Corruption Forum
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are gathered today to witness a significant and historic step forward in meeting the challenge of fighting one of the manifestations of moral decay in our society, namely corruption.
The launch of the National Anti-Corruption Forum is an important sequel to the National Anti-Corruption Summit of April 1999, where government, through the Public Service Commission, established a National Anti-Corruption Cross Sectoral Task Team to take forward the implementation of the Summit resolutions. From these recommendations, a thirty (30) member non-statutory and cross-sectoral National Anti-Corruption Forum has been established to:
We believe that the formation and launch of this Forum is consistent with the call to address the problem of corruption from various angles whilst carefully considering the local context within which corruption occurs.
There is a need for a clear conceptualization of the problem because the causes of corruption are complex and rooted in the particular historical, social, political and economic conditions of our society. In essence, apartheid distorted good value systems and brought about a culture whereby the respect for human life and property ceased to exist, and violence became the method of addressing problems and dealing with opponents.
Horrific human rights abuses were committed to keep the system in place, and in the process, moral values and the ability to see what is right and wrong, were severely eroded. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission process detailed some of these excesses and atrocities.
Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, we are building a new society out of the ruins of a system that was extremely corrupt, through which billions of rands were also spent wrongfully and wastefully. Apartheid as a system institutionalized corruption, and made it a way of life. That is why the government is investing so much in building a new ethos and inculcating good governance in our country.
Whilst noting the challenges, we should also be proud of our achievements that we have made in the fight against corruption in the short existence of a democratic order. The independent institutions established since 1994, such as the Public Protector, The Office for Serious Offences, National Directorate for Public Prosecutions, Special Investigating Unit are unrivalled in the world as noted by various international entities.
We have also put in place certain laws such as Promotion of Access to Information Act, commonly known as the open democracy law, and the Protected Disclosures Act, also commonly known as the whistleblowers act. These laws seek to entrench the values of transparency, accountability and responsibility.
These institutions, laws and anti-corruption initiatives have already shown positive results. This has also led to greater awareness of the nature of the problem and the methods and mechanisms to effectively deal with this scourge.
Our successes in this regard have been underscored by various independent sources like the financial journalist and analyst JP Landman who notes on his website in an article on corruption that "the perception exists that corruption in South Africa is a one way street. Our research indicates this is not necessarily the case. A lot is being done".
JP Landman notes that 75% of all corruption cases before the courts were the results of official processes, essentially through the efforts of the various official anti-corruption units and not through the media as so often portrayed.
In addition Stephen Dover, who is part of the World Bank Task Force for corporate governance, said that South Africa had good corporate governance when viewed against other developing countries. Dover further notes that "South Africa is way ahead of other emerging markets in principles of good governance", and wait for it, "even compared with some European countries, it was on the right track".
Together with these positive developments, it is my belief that the noble values embodied in our liberation struggle provide a good guideline as well deal with these new challenges.
We will not be alone in the world in doing so, for the global struggle against corruption is also gaining momentum, given the recent international meeting of Ministers and government officials, at the Globa Forum II meeting in the Hague, in The Netherlands, only two weeks ago which amongst other made an undertaking to prevent and combat all forms of corruption. South Africa was represented at the meeting.
The launch of this forum is therefore a direct and unambiguous statement to show our unwavering commitment. In addition, it underlines our resolve to rebuild our value systems through the moral regeneration campaign and similar initiatives.
We are therefore recommitting ourselves, through this Anti-Corruption Forum and other initiatives and institutions, to deal decisively with these challenges.
This, however, will require that each and every citizen join in the reconstruction of our society. It means that we have to put the interests of the country first, uphold values that are intrinsically good and will not be to the detriment of our fellow citizens. The co-operation of all sectors in society is critical in combating this plague.
It is also important to note that since the Anti-corruption Summit in 1999, a lot has been done at provincial level. We are also working towards establishing provincial anti-corruption fora after this launch.
I therefore call upon political parties, faith-based organizations, civics, labour federations, business and other civil society structures to form a nationwide anti-crime and anti-corruption movement. We cannot achieve our goals without the entire society pooling resources and joining hands.
We are also mindful that we need to increase the confidence of our people in the criminal justice system, for that will assist us to counter the plague of crime and corruption.
As we mark the 25th anniversary of June 16, we call on the youth of our country to strengthen their resolve to fight the scourge of crime and corruption.
To the members of the Forum, I wish you all of the best in the demanding road ahead. Be assured that you have the full support of all South Africans.
I Thank You