Question NW4026 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
11 December 2023 - NW4026
Buthelezi, Ms SA to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether she is responsible for putting functional measures in place in municipalities to combat intimidation and abuse faced by municipal workers who report and/or attempt to report corruption and maladministration in municipalities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what functional measures has been put in place?
Reply:
Protection for whistleblowers, including municipal employees and councillors who report allegations of corruption, maladministration and related offences at municipalities is provided by the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000 (Act No. 26 of 2000) (“the PDA”). The PDA was primarily enacted to provide for procedures in terms of which employees in both the private and the public sector may disclose information regarding unlawful or irregular conduct by their employers or other employees in the employ of their employers and most importantly to provide protection to employees who make a disclosure.
The purpose of the PDA is to protect workers from being subjected to an “occupational detriment” because they made a protected disclosure; to provide for remedies where an occupational detriment does occur and to provide procedures in terms of which information can be disclosed in a responsible manner. The PDA is administered by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Practically, this means that if a person discloses information which is classified as a protected disclosure and an occupational detriment occurs because of disclosing, an employee or worker can approach any court with jurisdiction, which includes the Labour Court, for appropriate relief. The courts are empowered to make any appropriate order which is just and equitable in the circumstance where an occupational detriment has occurred.
Municipalities are encouraged through the Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy to develop whistle blowing policies to encourage the reporting of allegations of corruption, maladministration and related offences at municipalities. Furthermore, municipal officials and councillors can report any act of corruption and maladministration anonymously through the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH) administered by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
It has been highlighted that while the PDA is well intended, it is deficient in many important respects. As such, there is a process currently underway, lead by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to review the PDA with a view to close the identified gaps.
End.