An exploration of whistle blowing in fighting corruption in the public sector in South Africa : A case of Stellenbosch Municipality

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Corruption in South Africa has become a topical issue, especially in the public sector. Public officials are expected to uphold the public interest, but corrupt officials abuse public office for personal gain. Corruption has many forms and facets and it occurs on both large and petty scales. Despite the scale, corruption has negative consequences, such as the loss of public confidence, the undermining of efficiency in service delivery and the diversion of resources. The reporting of corruption through whistle blowing is important because it alerts the organisation of corrupt activities that have been witnessed. However, even though whistle blowers disclose corrupt activities which are detrimental to the public interest, they often experience retaliation, for example harassment, victimization and threats. Whistle blowers are thus often reluctant to blow the whistle. The South African government has enacted legislation, in particular the Protected Disclosures Act (2000), which protects whistle blowers from retaliation; however, in itself this may not be sufficient to encourage employees to blow the whistle. Organisations therefore need to devise effective whistle blowing mechanisms and create a culture of transparency that encourages employees to blow the whistleIn light of the above, this study focuses on employee perceptions of whistle blowing mechanisms within Stellenbosch Municipality as a case study, with the primary objective of ascertaining the importance of whistle blowing in curbing corruption in the public sector. The study also investigates the extent to which employees are well informed on whistle blowing legislation and other mechanisms. Additionally the study focuses on the challenges and the consequences that whistle blowers face when they expose corruption.A literature review was also conducted to explore the conceptualisation of whistle blowing, corruption and anti-corruption strategies. From the literature review, it became evident that there is a need for the effective management and application of whistle blowing mechanisms to effectively curb corruption. The research design used was methodological triangulation; this consisted of a quantitative research method, namely a structured questionnaire, as well as a qualitative research method, namely semi-structured interviews. The different methods were used because they allowed for a more comprehensive approach to the study. Ninety-eight respondents, who are employees of Stellenbosch Municipality, participated in the study by completing the questionnaire.The results of the study indicate that the majority of respondents view the term whistle blowing negatively which might contribute to why individuals are reluctant to blow the whistle. Furthermore, employees agreed unanimously that they lacked confidence in their manager/supervisors to deal with disclosures of corruption.Based on the findings of this study, Stellenbosch Municipality is commended for its efforts in developing a Fraud and Corruption Policy and establishing a Fraud Hotline. However, there should be enhanced protection of whistle blowers at the Municipality in order to encourage employees to blow the whistle on any corruption that they witness in the organisation. The study contributes to anti-corruption research, and in particular whistle blowing mechanisms within the public sector in South Africa.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University