PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE:

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• PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
• EVALUATION OF THE NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION
  HOTLINE
• DATE 13 JUNE 2007

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1. INTRODUCTION

• 1.1. BACKGROUND
• One of the key obstacles faced in the fight
  against corruption in the Public Service is the
  fact that public servants are often too
  intimidated to speak out or blow the whistle on
  corrupt and unlawful activities.
• One of the mechanisms used world-wide to provide
  whistleblowers with access to report corruption
  are Corruption Hotlines.
• On 14 August 2003 Cabinet approved (Cabinet
  Memorandum 45 of August 2003) the establishment
  of one National Hotline for the Public Service,
  and requested the Public Service Commission (PSC)
  to manage the Hotline.
• The PSC has a very specific mandate in relation
  to ethics and corruption in the Public Service as
  set out in the Constitution, 1996. In terms of
  sections 195 of the Constitution the PSC is
  mandated to-

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• 195 (4)(a) promote a high standard of
  professional ethics in the Public Service.
• 196(4)(b) investigate, monitor and evaluate the
  organisation and administration, and the
  personnel practices, of the public service and
• 196(4)(f)(i) investigate and evaluate the
  application of personnel and public
  administration practices, and to report to the
  relevant executing authority and legislature.
• The objectives of the NACH are to
• deter potential corruption by making all
  employees and other stakeholders aware that the
  Public Service is not a soft target and raise
  the level of awareness that the Public Service is
  serious about corruption

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OBJECTIVES (CONT)

• detect incidents of corruption through
  encouraging whistle blowers to report incidents
  which they witness occurring in the Public
  Service
• ensure the successful investigation of alleged
  corruption and to provide feedback to
  whistle-blowers
• assist the Public Service in identifying areas of
  corruption risk in order that preventative and
  detective control measures can be appropriately
  improved or developed
• raise awareness that Government takes corruption
  seriously and
• enable callers to report corruption anonymously
  thus encouraging whistle- blowing.
• The PSC believes the timing appropriate to
  reflect on the effectiveness of the NACH after 2
  years of operation.

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1.2 OBJECTIVES WITH THIS EVALUATION OF THE NACH

• The PSC through this evaluation therefore seeks
  to
• Provide a statistical overview of cases submitted
  to the Hotline from 01 September 2004 to 30
  November 2006.
• Identify trends emerging from the cases reported
  on the Hotline from 01 September 2004 to 30
  November 2006.
• Identify problems and discuss emerging challenges
  in managing the Hotline.
• Raise the level of awareness to intensify the
  fight against corruption.
• Further assist the Departments in identifying
  areas of fraud risk in order that preventative
  and detective control measures can appropriately
  be developed or improved.
• Provide recommendations on the effective
  management of the cases referred to departments.
• Identify areas for improvement of the Hotline
  improved.

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1.3 METHODOLOGY

• The PSC conducted an evaluation of all
  information available from the PSC call centre,
  PSC database (Case Management System) and through
  NACH workshops conducted at National and
  Provincial level with senior managers and
  investigators who are in involved in managing
  Hotline cases in their respective departments.
• In conducting the evaluation of data at its
  disposal, the PSC specifically considered the
  following
• Number of cases of corruption logged on the NACH
• Manner in which corruption was reported.

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METHODOLOGY (CONT)

• Rate of feedback
• The conclusion of investigations
• The nature of cases reported to the Hotline.
• Challenges experienced in managing the hotline.
• Based on the PSCs management of the hotline.

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2. FUNCTIONING OF THE HOTLINE

• 2.1 REPORTING ALLEGED CORRUPTION TO THE NACH
• The NACH is operational 24 hours and seven days a
  week and caters for all eleven languages. Various
  methods of reporting alleged corruption are
  available. This includes telephone, fax, e-mail,
  normal post, or personal visits to any of the
  offices of the PSC. The following contact details
  are applicable
• Telephone, using the 0800 701 701 toll free
  number.
• Fax, using the 0800 204 965 toll free number.
• Post, by sending information to Freepost,
  Kwa-Zulu Natal 582, Umhlanga Rocks 4320.
• E-mail at integrity_at_gobodoHotline.co.za.

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FUNCTIONING (CONT)

• 2.2 CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• The information is captured on the Case
  Management System (CMS).
• This information allows the PSC to evaluate
  allegations the functioning of the Hotline as
  well as to establish trends.
• 2.3 CASE REFERRALS
• The PSC refers cases to departments with a
  covering letter addressed to the respective
  Directors-General in line with the protocols as
  agreed with provinces and departments.

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FUNCTIONING (CONT)

• 2.4 FEEDBACK TO THE CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF
  THE PSC
• Departments must provide feedback on progress
  with investigations within 40 days of the date of
  referral. Such progress refers to milestones
  reached in the investigation for purposes of
  providing feedback to the caller (s).
• The PSC through its CMS maintains a complete
  data-base of the status of cases. Outstanding
  feedback on cases is followed up on a regular
  basis by the PSC through reminders to
  departments.

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FUNCTIONING (CONT)

• 2.5 ANALYSIS OF FEEDBACK
• Once the PSC receives feedback it critically
  evaluates the information provided by the
  departments to determine
• Whether the allegation has been adequately
  investigated and could therefore be closed on the
  case management system. In conducting this
  evaluation the PSC determines whether it agrees
  with the findings of the investigation based on
  an analysis of the feedback provided by the
  department. The PSC uses its expertise in the
  field of public administration to determine
  whether departments interpretation of rules,
  regulations and laws is correct and whether there
  are not factual gaps in the findings of
  departments that should be addressed.
• Whether the information provided by the
  department is adequate for the PSC to take an
  informed decision and whether additional
  documentation or information are required.
• The nature of the feedback to be captured on the
  case management system.

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FUNCTIONING (CONT)

• 2.6 CLOSURE OF CASES
• Once the PSC is satisfied that a case has been
  investigated to its satisfaction and that the
  outcome complies with the rules, regulations and
  laws governing public administration, it approves
  the feedback that should be captured on the
  Hotline.
• If the PSC is satisfied that no further feedback
  would be necessary on a specific case it
  authorizes the closure of the case on the CMS.
• The department involved is informed that the case
  is considered finalized and that it has been
  closed on the CMS. The closure of the case on the
  CMS does not mean that the information on the
  case will be removed from the CMS as feedback
  still has to be provided to the caller.

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FUNCTIONING (CONT)

• 2.7 FEEDBACK TO CALLERS
• Once feedback on individual cases reported to the
  NACH is obtained from departments and the PSC has
  conducted its evaluation of the feedback, the
  feedback is then captured on the CMS.
• Persons who reported the alleged corruption can
  obtain feedback by phoning the Hotline and by
  quoting the unique case reference number that was
  given to them when they first reported the
  alleged corruption to the Hotline.

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3. STASTICAL OVERVIEW

• 3.1 MANNER IN WHICH CORRUPTION IS REPORTED TO
  THE NACH

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• The preferred method of reporting is through
  anonymous disclosures. A possible reason why
  whistle-blowers prefer anonymous disclosures is
  that public servants may be too intimidated to
  speak out or "blow the whistle" on corrupt and
  unlawful activities, despite the protection
  provided to them through the Protected
  Disclosures Act, 2007.
• The disadvantage with anonymous callers is that
  vital information or evidence, if not supplied in
  the first instance on the alleged corruption, is
  difficult to obtain as callers cannot be traced
  for follow-up purposes.

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• 3.2 LANGUAGES USED BY WHISTLEBLOWERS IN
  REPORTING CORRUPTION TO THE NACH

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• The majority of people preferred to report
  corruption using English.
• Callers to the Hotline have the advantage that
  they can communicate whatever information that
  they have to share in their home language.
• This gives true meaning to accessibility and
  promotes participation.
• 3.3 OVERALL STATISTICS
• A total of 4182 cases of alleged corruption
  reported to the NACH during the period 01
  September 2004 to 30 November 2006 was logged on
  the CMS.
• After an evaluation of the cases, the PSC found
  that only 2296 related to corruption.
• A breakdown of the different types of cases as
  registered on the CMS is illustrated in table 1
  below

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)
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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• Out of the 4182 cases logged on the CMS, the NACH
  also received one thousand 1105 cases of service
  delivery related matters. This places unnecessary
  strain on the Hotline.
• However, attempts are being made to refer callers
  reporting service delivery cases to appropriate
  institutions / call centers. This is done by
  operators at the call centre.
• A further 507 cases were closed on the case
  management system due to a lack of detail or
  allegations being regarded as frivolous.
• Frivolous cases are cases in which a critical
  factual gap exists, rendering the likelihood of a
  successful conclusion unlikely, doubtful or
  impossible (e.g. no or inadequate description of
  person (s) involved).
• One hundred and sixty six cases related to
  private sector matters which could not be
  addressed within the context of the Public
  Service and were closed on the Case Management
  System.

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)
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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• Note Abusive calls Refers to calls where people
  use foul and insulting language.
• Children playing Refers to children playing on
  the phone mainly during school holidays.
• Dropped calls Refers to calls where people
  decided to terminate a call for no apparent
  reason.
• Enquiries Refers to calls where people make
  enquiries about matters not linked to corruption.
  
• Fax line Refers to irrelevant faxes received
  through fax hotline.
• Unnecessary request for feedback Refers to calls
  where people requested feedback without having
  the case reference number.

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• The NACH received a huge number (20682) of calls
  not relevant to the reporting of corruption.
  This is problematic to the functioning of the
  NACH as it affects service delivery and effective
  management of the NACH.
• This disadvantage needs to be balanced against
  the need for free access to report corruption by
  concerned citizens.

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STATISTICAL OVERVIEW (CONT)

• Allegations of corruption received by the NACH
  have risen gradually since the inception of the
  NACH. When the Hotline started in September
  2004, one hundred and thirty six cases (136) were
  recorded.
• On average, 82 call reports are received per
  month. Overall however, most calls have been
  received during 2006 with November 2006 achieving
  the highest number, namely 158.
• This shows a positive trend in the uptake of the
  Hotline.

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FEEDBACK
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FEEDBACK (CONT)

• Feedback received constitutes a response rate of
  36. This percentage reflects negatively on
  departments capacity and ability to investigate
  cases and to provide feedback to callers. Certain
  departments have not submitted any feedback at
  all.
• One hundred and forty two (142) cases were
  properly closed on the case management system by
  30 November 2006 after an investigation had been
  concluded by the relevant Departments. This
  represents only 6 of cases reported to the NACH.
  
• Twenty (20) officials were dismissed after
  disciplinary action had been taken following the
  investigation of cases reported to the Hotline. A
  further (17) officials have been suspended
  pending misconduct proceedings related to alleged
  corruption. This amounts to 26 of cases that
  were successfully investigated.

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FEEDBACK (CONT)

• 3.5 CASES REFERRED TO DEPARTMENTS AT NATIONAL AND
  PROVINCIAL LEVEL AND FEEDBACK RECEIVED

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FEEDBACK (CONT)

• Gauteng Province has the highest number of cases
  of alleged corruption reported via the NACH,
  followed by Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and
  Mpumalanga.
• Despite receiving the most cases of alleged
  corruption, Gauteng has only submitted feedback
  in respect of forty seven (47) cases (7 of the
  total number of cases referred).
• Furthermore, only sixteen (16) responses have
  been received from the KwaZulu-Natal Province.
• The poor responses received from Gauteng Province
  and KwaZulu-Natal Province are cause for concern.
  
• The underlying reasons for such poor response
  rates are not clear but it does appear as if the
  protocols established for case referrals and
  feedback within these Provinces may not be
  working well.
• However, procedural inefficiencies are not an
  acceptable excuse for not giving due attention to
  something as important as dealing effectively
  with corruption.

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4. TREND ANALYSIS WITH RESPECT TO THE NATURE OF
CASES REPORTED TO THE NACH

• 4.1 OVERVIEW OF THE NATURE OF CASES REPORTED

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)
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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• 4.2 OVERALL TREND ANALYSIS OF ALL CASES REPORTED
  TO THE NACH

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• A total of three hundred and twenty eight (328)
  cases of alleged unethical behaviour by public
  servants relating to issues such as non-adherence
  to official working hours were reported.
• It appears that public servants may not have been
  adequately informed of the requirements of the
  Code of Conduct for the Public Service and that
  departments are promoting professional ethics
  adequately.
• Alleged procurement irregularities were also
  frequently reported. The total of two hundred and
  thirty four (234) cases reported points to risks
  associated with the area of supply chain
  management.
• The abuse of Government-owned vehicles was also
  given a high prominence with two hundred and
  thirty three (233) cases being reported.

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• Despite the fact the Department of Social
  Development has its own Social Grant Fraud
  Hotline a total of one hundred and ninety three
  (193) cases were reported to the NACH. Most of
  these cases involve pension, disability and child
  grant fraud committed by members of the public as
  well as public officials.
• Alleged fraud related to passports, death, birth
  and marriage certificates were also frequently
  reported. A total of one hundred and seventy five
  (175) cases of alleged identity document fraud as
  well as fraud related to passports, death, birth
  and marriage certificates was reported.
• The effectiveness of the fraud prevention plan of
  Department of Home Affairs in addressing these
  risks and its internal capacity and expertise to
  manage such risks must be a cause of concern.

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• 4.3 ANALYSIS OF CASES OF ALLEGED CORRUPTION
  REPORTED IN RESPECT OF PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• At provincial level, the alleged abuse of
  government owned vehicles has the highest
  frequency of all cases reported.
• The high number may be because the drivers of
  such vehicles are in the public eye at all times
  and.
• It has also been observed that the hotline number
  has been displayed visually on some Government
  owned vehicles.
• As parents have a very close relationship with
  the schools that their children attend. It is
  therefore not surprising that one hundred and
  twenty one (121) cases of alleged corruption
  relating to the mismanagement of school funds by
  certain principals and teachers were reported.

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• 4.4 ANALYSIS OF CASES OF ALLEGED CORRUPTION
  REPORTED IN RESPECT OF NATIONAL DEPARTMENTS

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TREND ANALYSIS (CONT)

• In comparison to provincial departments more
  public servants were reported at National level
  in respect of the soliciting of bribes. As the
  bulk of service delivery happens at provincial
  government level where service providers are more
  frequently contacted, this trend raises
  questions.
• A possible reason could be that service providers
  for national departments apply closer attention
  to their own codes of ethics and therefore may be
  more inclined to report corrupt behaviour by
  public servants.

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5. MANAGING THE HOTLINE

• The successful functioning of the Hotline is
  contingent on a number of factors. Some of these
  are within the PSCs ability to control and
  directly influence whilst others are largely
  dependent on the activities of departments in
  relation to Hotline referrals.
• The PSC through its day to day management of the
  Hotline has observed a number of issues that
  impact both positively and negatively on the
  functioning of the Hotline.
• This section examines good practice as well as
  challenges that have emerged from the management
  of NACH and as such comments on the effectiveness
  of the Hotline.

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MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT)

• 5.1 THE CALL CENTER
• 5.1.1 Good reaction time from the call center
• The call center is extremely efficient in logging
  case reports on the case management system. From
  when a call is logged to when the case appears on
  the case management system, following quality
  control procedures at the call center, takes on
  average less than 24 hours.
• Urgent cases such as tip-offs of theft and
  threats to human life are dealt with immediately.
  The call center contacts the responsible
  officials at the PSC immediately who in turn
  alerts the relevant authorities.
• Such urgent referrals have already resulted in
  the arrests of perpetrators caught in the act.

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MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT)

• 5.1.2 Duplication of cases and reference numbers
• The investigation and following up on cases
  reported to the Hotline was initially complicated
  by the fact that the CMS duplicated cases as well
  as reference numbers. This occurred when a
  person phoned twice on the same matter or after a
  caller had sent additional information via the
  fax line.
• This is, however, identified by the PSC on the
  CMS and the additional information is
  appropriately referenced against the original
  call received. As a result departments are no
  longer provided with different reference numbers
  on the same case.

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MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT)

• 5.1.3 Cases on service delivery being reported to
  the hotline
• Such calls in fact constitute 34 of all cases
  logged on the CMS. This places unnecessary
  strain on the Hotline and the PSC.
• In addition the PSC, given its mandate, cannot
  simply ignore such cases and actively pursue the
  information received with departments.
• Whereas the PSC in the past had to deal with 40
  to 60 investigations per annum emanating from the
  complaints lodged through its Complaints Rules,
  it has received within the short period of
  existence of the Hotline an additional 1105
  complaints.

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MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT)

• 5.1.4 Phone calls on other non-corruption related
  matters not captured on the CMS
• The Call Center, in addition to corruption and
  service delivery related cases, received a total
  of 20682 calls, the bulk of which were
  non-corruption related enquiries, children
  playing and dropped calls. There were also a
  substantial number of abusive calls (878). When
  the Hotline has to deal with such calls, it
  denies access to other callers that genuinely
  want to report corruption.
• It also has a financial implication in that
  government has to pay for such calls received.

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MANAGING THE HOTLINE (CONT)

• 5.1.5 The call centre must ensure that adequate
  information is gathered from callers
• It is of utmost importance that callers are
  prompted to provide adequate information that
  would allow for the effective investigation of
  allegations.
• A checklist to assist operators in prompting
  callers for relevant information has been
  provided by the PSC. The PSC is in the process
  of reviewing the checklist in order to ensure
  that callers are adequately interrogated by
  operators at the call center.

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CASE MANAGEMENT

• 5.2 CASE MANAGEMENT BY THE PSC
• 5.2.1 Case referrals from the case management
  center
• The PSC has established a dedicated unit for the
  management of case referrals even though
  sufficient funding for this has not been
  provided.
• The unit analyses each case that is submitted
  through the CMS to determine which departments
  are involved and whether there is sufficient
  evidence to facilitate an investigation. It then
  summarises each case and advises the PSC on
  appropriate action.

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CASE MANAGEMENT (CONT)

• 5.2.2 Implications of the capacity of the PSC
• The PSC does not have capacity to investigate any
  of the corruption related cases reported to the
  Hotline. As indicated, its investigative capacity
  has been designed to address complaints emanating
  from the application of its Complaints Rules.
• Departments must have the capacity to investigate
  corruption.
• If the PSC had additional investigative capacity
  it could handle a number of sensitive
  investigations that are not being followed
  through by Departments. This would contribute
  significantly to the effectiveness of the
  Hotline.

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CASE MANAGEMENT (CONT)

• Funding for the management of the Hotline was
  only provided for the outsourcing of the call
  center. The internal capacity of the PSC to
  manage case referrals has not been addressed.
• Especially within the area of professional
  ethics, the PSC has had to clamp down on the
  promotional work that it so successfully
  performed in the past in order to manage the
  NACH.

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HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS

• 5.3 HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS BY DEPARTMENTS
• 5.3.1 Slow feedback from departments on
  investigation of cases
• Departments are submitting feedback on progress
  with the investigation of cases at a very slow
  pace. Out of the 2296 cases referred to
  departments, feedback has only been received on
  the status of 830 cases.
• This raises questions amongst the public about
  the effectiveness of the Hotline.
• The fact that only 6 of cases have been closed
  on the CMS further reflects very negatively on
  departmental investigative capacity which must be
  established in terms of the minimum
  anti-corruption requirements set by Cabinet.

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HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT)

• 5.3.2 Referral protocols are ineffective
• During Hotline workshops in certain provinces, it
  has emerged that the submission of case reports
  via the Offices of Directors-General (Premiers
  Offices) creates bottlenecks and causes delays in
  the provision of such reports to departments.
• Whilst the PSC does everything in its ability to
  refer cases as speedily as possible, the handling
  of such referrals by Premiers Offices causes a
  delay before the departments or institutions that
  should be dealing with the relevant cases
  actually deals with them.
• Provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Western Cape
  and Mpumalanga have achieved comparatively high
  rates of feedback despite having the same
  referral protocols as other provinces.

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HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT)

• At national level, however, it is apparent that
  the response rate has been the highest from two
  institutions that must have investigative
  capacity to execute their mandates, namely the
  Independent Complaints Directorate and the
  National Prosecuting Authorities. In the
  majority of other departments, the response rate
  has been very poor.

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HANDLING OF CASE REFERRALS (CONT)

• 5.3.3 Investigative capacity appears to be
  limited
• However, the rate of feedback and the closure of
  cases on the CMS are not the only indicators
  against which the PSC measures the investigative
  capacity of departments.
• On numerous occasions cases are referred back to
  departments for further investigation as critical
  issues related to such cases have not been
  adequately addressed. This points to inadequate
  skills within departments to conduct thorough
  investigations.
• There are departments that provide very
  comprehensive feedback on cases and professional
  investigation reports.
• The PSC has developed a National Anti-Corruption
  Hotline Toolkit in order to help Departments in
  the management of Hotline cases.

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MARKETING OF THE HOTLINE

• 5.4 MARKETING OF THE HOTLINE
• Given that the NACH is a relatively new
  initiative and given that the PSCs internal
  capacity to manage the Hotline is limited, it has
  deliberately not embarked on a wide-spread
  campaign to market the Hotline. Current teething
  problems experienced with the management of the
  Hotline, especially at departmental level,
  suggest that this was a wise approach.

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RESULTS OF THE HOTLINE

• 5.5 RESULTS OF THE HOTLINE
• The Hotline has already achieved tangible
  results. In the province of Limpopo a total of
  20 officials have already been dismissed as a
  result of corrupt practices committed by them
  which were reported through the Hotline. A
  further 17 officials throughout the Public
  Service have been placed on suspension pending
  disciplinary enquiries.
• Apart from these visible results the Hotline has
  also served to create awareness amongst public
  servants regarding corruption.
• The awareness created serves two important
  purposes. First of all it provides public
  servants with information on how to report
  corruption and secondly it deters those intending
  to commit corruption from doing so out of fear of
  being exposed.

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6. RECOMMENDATIONS

• 6.1 APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES CONTAINED IN
  THE NACH TOOLKIT
• In order to assist departments with the effective
  management of Hotline case referrals, the PSC has
  deemed it appropriate to develop a NACH Toolkit
  which was printed and distributed during 2006.
  The functioning of the Hotline will be improved
  if departments apply the principles contained in
  the Toolkit.
• 6.2 IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CALL CENTRE
• The service provider will be required to be
  analytical in the manner that callers are able to
  disclose all the necessary details or evidence
  pertaining to alleged corruption. This will
  ensure that sufficient information is obtained
  from callers and that only corruption related
  calls are logged.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (CONT)

• 6.3 EXISTING PROTOCOLS
• Provinces that are experiencing bottle-necks as a
  result of their referral protocols.
• They must review these protocols to determine
  whether direct referral to provincial departments
  may not be more effective. The Offices of
  Premiers can maintain oversight by requiring
  provincial departments to provide updates on
  cases referred to them for investigation.

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RECOMMENDATION (CONT)

• 6.4 BOLSTERING INVESTIGATIVE CAPACITY WITHIN
  DEPARTMENTS
• Departments are obliged through the Minimum
  Anti-Corruption Capacity Requirements issued by
  Cabinet to create investigative capacity. As such
  departments must either reprioritise within their
  existing budgetary allocations to bolster such
  capacity or seek additional funding from the
  National or Provincial Treasuries.
• The Anti-Corruption Coordinating Committee should
  identify service providers that can offer
  appropriate training to investigators and this
  information must be provided to departments.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (CONT)

• 6.5 CREATING INVESTIGATIVE CAPACITY IN THE PSC
• There are certain urgent cases reported on the
  Hotline which the PSC could deal with but it does
  not have sufficient investigative capacity to do
  so.
• Should additional investigative capacity be
  created in the PSC to investigate cases lodged on
  the NACH, this will be for sensitive cases that
  are not being handled by Departments.

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RECOMMENDATION (CONT)

• 6.6 MARKETING OF THE HOTLINE
• The PSC will actively embark on a marketing
  campaign to promote greater awareness of the
  existence of the Hotline among government
  employees and the public.
• The PSC will ensure that the purpose of the
  Hotline is adequately addressed so that there is
  a clear understanding of what corruption entails
  and how persons should go about reporting it.

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RECOMMENDATION (CONT)

• 6.7 STRENGTHENING INTERNAL CONTROLS AND MANAGING
  RISKS
• The nature of cases of alleged corruption
  reported on the Hotline (theft, fraud, bribery,
  etc.) suggests that internal controls of
  departments may not be adequate. By identifying
  the risks associated with specific acts of
  corruption, departments are enabled to put
  mechanisms in place to prevent the re-occurrence
  of such acts.
• It is therefore recommended that departments
  conduct thorough risk assessments to identify
  areas where internal controls must be
  strengthened. Through these risk assessments the
  fraud prevention plans of departments can also be
  strengthened.

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RECOMMENDATION (CONT)

• 6.8 MANAGING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
• The area of supply chain management is very
  susceptible to conflicts of interest occurring
  between the private interests of public servants
  and their public responsibilities.
• Through the stringent management of conflicts of
  interest corruption within this area can be
  addressed to a significant extent.
• Executing Authorities should pay closer attention
  to the financial disclosures of senior managers
  with the view to identify potential conflicts of
  interest.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (CONT)

• The PSC has also produced a report on the
  Management of Conflicts of Interest. The report
  proposes the implementation of a comprehensive
  framework for the management of conflicts of
  interest in the Public Service. Should the
  recommendations in this report be taken forward,
  it will contribute in a significant way in
  addressing corruption that emanates from
  conflicts of interest.

60
RECOMMENDATIONS (CONT)

• 6.9 PROMOTING AWARENESS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
• There is clearly much to be done in promoting
  professional ethics and creating awareness of
  corruption in the Public Service based on the
  number of cases of alleged corruption reported to
  the Hotline.
• Departments have a responsibility to ensure that
  a culture of ethical behavior is created and
  maintained.
• The most important manner of ensuring awareness
  is by effectively and decisively dealing with
  corruption. The importance of adequate
  investigative capacity is therefore again
  underscored.