Citizens urged to join fight against corruption
The Director-General of the Government Communication and Information System says that corruption requires prevention and active anti-corruption practices from all citizens.
AS the world commemorates International Anti-Corruption Day today, many countries, including South Africa, still have a long way to go in their concerted efforts to deal decisively with corruption.
It has been estimated that 131 countries made no significant progress against corruption over the last decade.
International Anti-Corruption Day is observed annually on December 9 in recognition of the United Nations Convention against Corruption which was signed in Mexico in 2003. South Africa is one of the signatories of the convention and ratified it in 2004.
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In this country, this day provides an opportunity for political leaders, governments, businesses, civil society and ordinary South Africans, in particular the youth, to join forces against corruption. After his inauguration in 2019, President Ramaphosa pronounced his intention to deal decisively with corruption.
It is known that corruption is a societal scourge that continues to spark robust debate and cause anxiety because it is a huge risk to the government’s service-delivery programme. It deprives deserving communities of much-needed services.
In one of her opinion pieces, Phumla Williams, the Director-General of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), said corruption manifests itself in all facets of society, and the country has to deal with it meaningfully to achieve economic growth and prosperity.
“One of the detrimental effects of corruption is its capacity to hinder development and progress. It thrives in weak governance structures and manifests itself in unethical people. Unless it is nipped in the bud, corruption has the potential to reverse the positive gains of the last 28 years of our democracy,” she said.
Williams stated that the country’s National Development Plan: Vision 2030 envisioned a corruption-free society that subscribes to the values of integrity, transparency and accountability.
She mentioned that the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) approved by Cabinet in 2018, was one of the interventions that sought to strengthen the fight against corruption.
According to her, it rallied everyone towards a common goal in the fight against corruption.
“The strategy is the culmination of intense society-wide collaboration that commits business, government and civil society to uphold professionalism and ethical and anti-corruption practices. This initiative aims to establish a national consensus on how we tackle the problem of corruption as a nation,” she added.
Williams said, while law-enforcement agencies and other arms of government remain at the forefront of combating corruption, ordinary South Africans have a critical role to play in preventing it from manifesting in society.
She said corruption requires prevention and active anti-corruption practices from all citizens.
