Cape Town - The Public Service Commission (PSC) has warned about the consequences of executive authorities, which may include ministers and “senior managers in influential positions in government”, issuing unlawful instructions in the public service.
According to the Commission, corruption has permeated all spheres of government.
Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya said not only did corruption undermine democracy and public trust in government but it negatively impacted state services, economic development and investor confidence in the country.
“The Zondo Commission highlights the seriousness of corruption and unethical practices in the country.
‘When President Cyril Ramaphosa testified at the commission in August 2021, one of the admissions he made was that many competent and highly-skilled state officials either left the Public Service or were side-lined if they refused to perform certain illegal instructions,” said Gxoyiya.
This emerged in the PSC’s quarterly bulletin, The Pulse of the Public Service released on Tuesday.
According to Gxoyiya, they received evidence on complaints which indicated that certain executive authorities (EAs) gave unlawful instructions in departments which obstructed Heads of Department from making lawful decisions.
“Of critical importance is that ignorance of the law is an inadequate defence if an unlawful instruction is issued.
Where EAs are uncertain of particular prescripts, senior managers should be consulted to provide guidance where necessary or consult the PSC as the custodian of good governance in the promotion of ethics,” he said.
The PSC emphasised that public servants were obligated both morally and legally to play a crucial role to assist the government to meet the needs of citizens in an accountable and transparent manner.
Gxoyiya said in many instances executive authority hid behind the notion that they did not know the law and acted on the advice of the officials.
The PSC also said any directive with financial implications by an executive authority to an accounting officer must be in writing. If such directive is likely to result in non-compliance with prescripts the accounting officer will be responsible for such non-compliance unless the executive authority has been informed of the likelihood of such.
“If the EA proceeds with the implementation of an unlawful directive, the written reasons must be filed immediately with the National Treasury and the Auditor-General as well as the relevant provincial treasury, if a provincial department is involved,” he said.
In the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, the PSC received 415 complaints through the national anti-corruption hotline.
In the second quarter, 324 complaints were received.
A total of 260 complaints were against national departments, 148 against provinces and 331 against public entities.
Social grant fraud was by far the most commonly reported complaint followed by service delivery issues, including water shortages and potholes.
ID fraud and illegal immigration constituted the third most common complaints.
Cape Times