Chairperson, the Auditor-General's report on conflicts of interest in the Public Service has raised serious issues. One of his specific concerns was the approval to perform remunerative work.
In a comprehensive audit conducted, it was found that 2 319 government officials had an interest in companies or CCs that did business with national and provincial government departments. Only 75 officials, that is 3%, had approval to perform remunerative work outside their official employment at departments.
What is very annoying about this is that the Public Service Act of 1994 stipulates explicitly:
No officer or employee shall perform or engage himself or herself to perform remunerative work outside his or her employment in the Public Service, without permission granted by the relevant executing authority or an officer authorised by the said authority.
Clearly, these officials violated the law. Business conducted with government by these employee-related entities for the 2005 to 2007 financial years amounted to R615 million.
The situation gets even worse when the Public Service Commission states in its report: Overview of the Implementation of the Financial Framework, Financial year 2007-08, that the low level of compliance, that is 70% by directors-general and deputy directors-general in both national and provincial departments, is of great concern. Surely, better compliance levels should be expected at this level as these officials take the lead in decision-making within their departments.
It, therefore, makes sense that the Public Service Commission advises the relevant executive authorities, namely Ministers and MECs, to institute disciplinary action and to charge transgressing officials with misconduct. The Auditor-General echoes these sentiments.
Accountability forms a crucial part of good management and good governance. Therefore, there must be consequences for misconduct. Guilty public servants, at all levels, must even be fired. Revision of the ministerial handbook and the handbook for managers is often mentioned in the press, but we would like to have a date for the completion of this very necessary process.
The important question, however, is whether the executive has the political will and the political guts to take these crucial steps against corruption. The Minister for the Public Service and Administration is the only one who can fire a director-general, for instance. Will Minister Baloyi be willing to take such a step in order to prove that he is serious in combating widespread corruption in the Public Service? Is he willing to compel public servants, at all levels, to sign their key performance agreements?
In the Western Cape, the DA implemented some alterations to the Public Service handbook in order to develop a climate of ethics in the Public Service. Is the Minister willing to do the same? May I remind him that he said, in July this year, while addressing the Anticorruption Learning Network in Port Elizabeth, that government needed to fight and improve its efforts to tackle this serious problem of corruption in the Public Service?
Mr Baloyi can be assured that the DA will support him all the way in fighting this immense problem, because only in doing this will we be able to start reversing public dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the Public Service in our country. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]