Question NW2869 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
24 December 2021 - NW2869
Ceza, Mr K to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
What measures has she put in place to protect municipal officials who are often forced by their political principals to commit fraud and corruption?
Reply:
Municipalities are required to adhere to legislative prescripts. Non-compliance by Councilors constitutes a breach of the Code of conduct for Councilors as contained in Schedule 7 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 2021.
If a Councilor fails to adhere to the legislative prescripts and the Minister becomes aware of any maladministration, fraud, corruption or any other serious malpractice which, in the opinion of the Minister, has occurred or is occurring in a municipality, the Minister will request the MEC responsible for Local Government to investigate the matter and council will be requested to institute appropriate disciplinary proceedings where necessary. In instances where corruption, fraud and related offences have been identified, such reports are handed over to law enforcement agencies for further processing.
Further, a number of Anti-Corruption Awareness sessions are held in the various Districts/Metros by the Department in collaboration with provinces and law enforcement agencies aimed at raising awareness on corruption and related offences. The workshops are also aimed at empowering officials and Councilors to understand
the protection in line with the Protected Disclosures Act in instances where they have to report wrongdoing and how it applies in practice.
The Department is also collaborating with South African Local Government Association (SALGA), The Ethics Institute (TEI), and the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) on a project aimed at promoting ethical leadership in municipalities. The project is aimed at developing a Code for Ethical Governance in Local Government.