Corruption in municipalities and government departments is carried out in secret, with those involved trying hard to hide their shenanigans in an attempt to avoid detection, possible axing from their jobs and, in some instances, arrest.
The political and administrative leadership in these entities have not had a record of detecting corrupt individuals on their own, let alone being open with the media about their internal shenanigans taking place.
It is whistle-blowers who, due to frustration, leak information for action to be taken against the transgressors.
Therefore it is hypocritical of those in leadership positions to come down hard on whistle-blowers in municipalities or provincial and national government departments for exposing what would have otherwise been kept secret from the public, like many other investigations, reports and wrongdoings that have been kept secret.
A case in point is how Mxolisi Kaunda, mayor of eThekwini, wanted to know if the head of the City Integrity and Investigations Unit, Mbuso Ngcobo, had no powers to institute legal action against those who leak information and reports to the media.
The mayor should consider that the nature of Ngcobo’s job required him to get information from people within the municipality, in other words, whistle-blowers.
When we read news about those in power gunning for whistle-blowers, it not only leaves a bitter taste but it is also treading on dangerous ground which will put us in a position where those with information will no longer come forward and report wrongdoing in various government entities. It is for this reason that whistle-blowers should have confidence that their identities will be kept a secret.
In some, if not most of the cases faced by political and administrative leadership, whistle-blowers deserve to be credited because were it not for them, there would be no charges against these officials. It is also worth noting that frustration is what drives people to seek media intervention in the form of making public what they believe is of public interest, especially if it affects taxpayers.
As Ngcobo correctly replied to the mayor when asked if he had been able to identify the whistle-blowers, we (journalists) have an obligation to protect the identity of our sources at all times.
The Star