Abstract
One of the key obstacles in the fight against corruption is the fact that,
without legal protection, individuals are often too intimidated to speak out
or blow the whistle. The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 (Act 26 of 2000)
provides protection against occupational detriment to those who disclose information
of unlawful or corrupt conduct. This law is therefore an important weapon in the anticorruption
struggle to encourage honest employees to report wrongdoing.
The presumed benefits of whistleblowing for good governance should be seen
against the possible negative consequences of whistleblowing. Whistleblowers
are both citizens and managers, and are therefore exposed to dilemmas in both
roles. As citizens, they want to see the termination of wrongdoing. As managers,
they would prefer whistleblowing incidents to go through internal channels only.
However, if whistleblowing is ineffective, it benefits no one.
There is an increasing focus on good (and bad) corporate governance and
institutions that are transparent and open will benefit from more favourable
investor perceptions. Improved relationships with the public show that a substantial
effort has been made to endow public administration with a legal framework that
encourages the players involved to assume a greater sense of responsibility and
develop practices to promote transparency and to protect whistleblowers.
Government has to overcome numerous difficulties caused largely by the
burden of history, unethical and corruptive constraints and government secrecy.
In the face of these difficulties, efficient administration that serves the needs of all
citizens is one prerequisite for strengthening the rule of law and the credibility of
the state, both internally and externally. Such administration must be transparent,
responsible and accountable, and served by honest officials. In the current context
of the globalisation of the world economy and the fluidity of cultural boundaries.
Administrations in all countries also face a variety of issues, including the ethical
problems concerned with the protection of employees who expose malpractice
or misconduct in the workplace, transparent administration and good governance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001414 |
| Date | 01 November 2007 |
| Creators | Holtzhausen, N |
| Publisher | Journal of Public Administration |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | Journal of Public Administration |
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