{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"South Africa Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com","author_name":"sjadmin","author_url":"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/author\/sjadmin-s\/","title":"Minister Jeff Radebe: International Anti-Corruption Day - South Africa Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"YLk1XKCtsi\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/minister-jeff-radebe-international-anti-corruption-day\/\">Minister Jeff Radebe: International Anti-Corruption Day<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/southafricajournal.com\/minister-jeff-radebe-international-anti-corruption-day\/embed\/#?secret=YLk1XKCtsi\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Minister Jeff Radebe: International Anti-Corruption Day&#8221; &#8212; South Africa Journal\" data-secret=\"YLk1XKCtsi\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n<\/script>\n","description":"Keynote address by Minister Jeff Radebe on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption DayProgramme Director, Professor D Singh;Hon. D Makhura, the Premier of GautengProfessor M Makhanya, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UNISA;Honourable Members of the National Executive within our midst;Ms Z Akisheva, UNODC Representative in Southern Africa;Acting Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mr B Mthembu;Former Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Professor SS Sangweni;Representatives of civil society and business organisations;Members of the Diplomatic Corps;Members of the Media;Senior Officials of the Anti-Corruption Task Team and other government departments;Esteemed Guests;Ladies and Gentlemen,Permit me to express my profound gratitude to the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime, the University of South Africa and the Public Service Commission for inviting me to address this august gathering on the occasion of the International Day against Corruption. The organisers of this year's event have aptly selected the theme United Against Corruption which resonates with the injunction of the National Development Plan to foster an active citizenry that that will partner with government in the fight against corruption. Acting together as a united and coherent force offers us the possibility to deliver a crushing blow against this spectre of corruption.It appears self-evident that as we mark this day and renew our pledge to the fight against corruption, we should reflect on the milestones covered and the challenges that still manifest themselves as well as the interventions we must institute to overcome these challenges. In my previous addresses to this assembly, I advised that our government had demonstrated its commitment to wrestle the bane of corruption, both in the public and private sectors, and to that end President J.G. Zuma established an Anti-Corruption Inter-Ministerial Committee (the ACIMC) to oversee all government anti-corruption efforts and initiatives. It is now common cause that the ACIMC performs its work through Task Team constituted by about fourteen government departments and institutions. What progress have we registered? Since 2014 we have ensured the conviction of a total of ninety (90) persons and legal entities for corruption and corruption related matters. Of the ninety persons convicted, thirty-two were in respect of cases where the total amount involved is R5 million per case. The total amount involved in the thirty-two cases was about R3.8 billion. In the instance of the remaining fifty-eight (58) persons convicted where the amount involved was less than R5 million per case, the total amount involved was in the order of R188 million.Honourable Guests,I believe it is meet that we cast our attention on the recent cases of corruption and fraud that have been dealt with by the courts as examples of successes recorded. In State versus Alfeus Christo Scholtz and Others (John Block Matter) the accused, were convicted of corruption, money laundering and fraud committed in connection with the procurement of service providers for the leasing of buildings to various departments within the Northern Cape Government. The amount involved was R704 million. This week the accused were each sentenced to an effective term of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years. The court also confirmed the final confiscation order in the amount of just under R60 million.In the matter of State versus Mduduzi Mkhize he accused was part of syndicate which colluded with employees of the Salary Division of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) and installed a key-logging software on the CATS system of the NMMM. The software was also set up to send key logs to a specified email address at regular intervals or when pre-programmed keywords were detected. Funds to the amount of R19 722 000 were transferred from the municipality into more than 60 different bank accounts. The accused was convicted of fraud and money laundering and sentenced to fifteen (15) years imprisonment.Finally, in State versus Cornelius Cameron Wessels the accused, a Cape Town sergeant, was sentenced to eight (8) years direct imprisonment after he was convicted of corruption involving a bribe of R100 at the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court for smuggling drugs to persons detained at Cape Town Police Station. This particular case should be a warning to the rotten apples within the ranks of our law-enforcement agencies that: You will be found and dealt with to the full extent of the law.In addition to securing convictions, a mechanism that is employed by the corruption fighting agencies is the freezing or confiscation of assets of those suspected of involvement in corruption while their prosecution is pending or their cases finalised through criminal or civil procedures respectively. Since 2014 to date we have been able to obtain eight hundred and seventy-one (871) freezing orders totalling R7.65 billion as well as one thousand and eighty-nine (1089) forfeiture\/confiscation orders to the value of R2.86 billion. From April 2014 to the current period President Zuma has signed twenty-seven (27) Proclamations empowering the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to investigate serious malpractices, maladministration and corruption in connection with the administration of State Institutions and to take appropriate and effective civil action. In this connection some of the results obtained by the SIU include the recovery of cash or assets to the tune of R204 million, the setting aside or invalidation of contracts and\/or administrative decisions\/actions to the value of R756 million and the referral of 3, 855 matters for disciplinary, executive and\/or administrative action.Honourable Guests,This year the Department of Public Service and Administration issued Public Service Regulations 2016 which seek to govern matters such as the receipt of gifts, financial disclosures, performance of other remunerative work by civil servants, the doing business with an Organ of State and ethics infrastructure. Regulation 13 (c) prohibits civil servants from conducting business with an organ of state.  Transitional measures provide in the regulations require public servants doing business with the state to cease to do so by January 2017and to provide documentary proof that they have so ceased to doing business with government by February 2017.As most of you present here might know, our Government established the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) in order to modernise and consolidate the State's fragmented and archaic legislative framework for procurement and supply chain management; strengthen accountability arrangements through focused governance monitoring and compliance arrangements; use technology smartly to reduce red tape, bring efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement process; establish strategic procurement principles in government processes; and increase centre led common spend items\/ transversal contracts in collaboration with key procuring Institutions in order to leverage the State spend. Since it was founded the OCPO has taken bold steps to curb waste, leakages, wrong doing and corruption. Notable achievements recorded since 2013 are the Public Procurement Bill (PPB) which aims to modernise the public procurement and SCM function by consolidating a legal framework applicable to the public sector and to facilitate broader reforms. The PPB, among other things, enables a differentiated approach towards procurement, provides agility and flexibility to maximise public procurement as a lever for economic growth, job creation, industrialisation and SMME development, optimises efficiency and effectiveness of SCM in obtaining value-for-money and enhances transparency, accountability and oversight in SCM.As most of you present here might know, our Government established the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) in order to modernise and consolidate the State's fragmented and archaic legislative framework for procurement and supply chain management; strengthen accountability arrangements through focused governance monitoring and compliance arrangements; use technology smartly to reduce red tape, bring efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement process; establish strategic procurement principles in government processes; and increase centre led common spend items\/ transversal contracts in collaboration with key procuring Institutions in order to leverage the State spend. Since it was founded the OCPO has taken bold steps to curb waste, leakages, wrong doing and corruption. Notable achievements recorded since 2013 are the Public Procurement Bill (PPB) which aims to modernise the public procurement and SCM function by consolidating a legal framework applicable to the public sector and to facilitate broader reforms.The PPB, among other things, enables a differentiated approach towards procurement, provides agility and flexibility to maximise public procurement as a lever for economic growth, job creation, industrialisation and SMME development, optimises efficiency and effectiveness of SCM in obtaining value-for-money and enhances transparency, accountability and oversight in SCM. Steps have been taken to improve transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of Supply Chain Management (SCM) by simplifying the process of doing business with state in the SCM environment. The Central Supplier Database (CSD) is the first step in this journey and is seen as the precursor to eProcurement in Government.An eTender Publication Portal has been created whose purpose to improved transparency of procurement spend specifically in the tender space. This has resulted in centralised tender publication through the publication of more than 11 000 tender opportunities to date viewed by more than 400 000 people annually.Distinguished Guests,Despite the progress we have made, it is indubitable that corruption continues to be a menace. This requires of us to escalate and deepen the measures we have put in place to counter corruption. In the introductory part of my address, I referred to the criticality of the joining of hands between governments and civil society in order to enhance our collective might and energy to sound a death knell for the corruption spectre. In this regard the National Development reminds us that:Overcoming the twin challenges of corruption and lack of accountability in our society requires a resilient system consisting of political will, sound institutions, a sound legal system, an active citizenry that is empowered to hold public officials accountable.We are thus obligated to adopt a whole of government and societal approach in order to build a resilient anti-corruption system, an accountable public service, a moral society and ensuring adequate transparency by asserting the authority of the state, improving coordination, improving ethical conduct, promoting citizen participation and public education.The government and societal approach that we speak about has necessitated the we initiate a process of developing a national strategy that brings together as one man, government and its social partners, and which also serves as a framework for all actions directed at corruption. Despite the existence of the Public Service and Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategies and some provincial and departmental anti-corruption strategies and\/or fraud prevention plans, an overarching strategy is needed to serve as a guide for developing a set of shared commitments across sectors, to support collaboration within and between sectors and to direct renewed energy towards the goal of reducing corruption and building an ethical society.To this end we caused a diagnosis of the corruption phenomenon to be undertaken in order to inform the crafting of this strategy &#65533; styled the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS). The Diagnostic report led to the drafting of a Discussion Document which we will launch early next year for purpose of society-wide consultations. The Discussion Document contains a brief overview of corruption in the country, but more importantly, proposes a basis for addressing this corruption. It is this basis which needs to be interrogated and we ask for your serious engagement with us as we together begin to craft a national strategy.Compatriots,We believe that the Discussion Document once released will rejuvenate a national dialogue and energise us to work towards practical mechanisms to reduce corruption and improve ethical practice across all sectors and amongst citizens in South Africa. Additionally, we believe it will ensure joint and coordinated action between government, business and civil society efforts to reduce corruption and improve accountability and ethical practice as well as provide a robust conceptual framework and strategic pillars to guide anti-corruption approaches across relevant sectors in the country. The process of consultation on the Discussion Document will culminate in the drafting of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. The aim is to have the NACS adopted for implementation during 2017.Esteemed Guests,I wish to reassure you that our government is ready and committed to do battle. I have no doubted all those here and beyond these confines are likewise ready and committed to respond to the call to arms. More particularly, it is of the absolute importance that the business community dedicates itself to play its part in the fight against corruption. This impels this community to craft its strategies and plans aimed at tackling this leprosy within its own ranks.Let us unite against corruption. Let us make corruption a history.I thank you.Source: Government of South Africa"}