Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DJCOD), Minister Ronald Lamola, is expected to address the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) symposium into the protection of whistleblowers.
The symposium is expected to be held on Friday at the Government Communication and Information System head office, Tshedimosetso House in Pretoria.
According to the PSC the symposium aims to, amongst others:
- Create a platform for participants to reflect on the challenges confronted by whistle-blowers
- Deliberate on tools and measures to enhance the Protected Disclosure Act of 2017 with a view to achieve an ethical and corrupt-free environment and to ensure effective and efficient performance in public administration
- Establish a whistleblowers support programme including confidentiality of whistleblowers
- Promote a high standard of professional ethics in the public service
“Fraud and corruption in South Africa continues to undermine the government’s efforts to deliver quality services to its citizens. Although efforts are being intensified to prevent and combat corruption in state institutions and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book, there is still concerns on the extent of the protection of whistle-blowers.
“To this end, as part of safeguarding the protection of whistle-blowers and to enhance the integrity of the country, the Public Service Commission in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme will host a Whistle-blower Symposium … under the theme “the extent and nature of the protection of whistle-blowers in South Africa,” the PSC said in a statement.
Recently, the DJCOD released – for public comment – reforms for whistleblowing legislation which proposes several measures to enhance the protection of whistleblowers.
The whistleblowers document can be accessed on https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/invitations/invites.htm and the deadline for comments is 15 August 2023. – SAnews.gov.za
