Question

Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow. Professional and Ethical Conduct in the Public Sector One of the basic values and principles governing public

administration enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Chapter 10) is that “a high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained. Ethics is a process by which we clarify right and wrong and act on what we take to be right, that is, a set or system of moral principles that are generally accepted. Ethics simply means what is right and wrong, what is acceptable or unacceptable and is intertwined with the value system of people. Ethics can also be seen as being relative, not absolute, as ethical behaviour is in the eyes of the beholder. Be that as it may, however, ethical conduct and behaviour normally refer to conforming with generally accepted social norms. Relative to ethics is professionalism, which entails a high standard of work and adherence to certain standards and principles pertaining to specific work to be done. Professionalism embodies skills competence, efficiency and effectiveness. Public institutions exist for the public good and employ public servants to render services to ensure a better life for all. The public sector is characterised by unprofessional and unethical conduct. The article unearths these and suggests strategies/mechanisms to address this ‘ill’. Can an unethical, unprofessional public servant be trusted to deliver services? Can, for example, a debtstrapped public servant who survives on borrowing money from micro-lenders, who cannot manage personal finances, be trusted to efficiently manage public funds and thus enhance service delivery? Can an incompetent, corrupt, disloyal, unaccountable, shoddy public servant who flouts the principles of Batho Pele and the code of conduct be entrusted with the responsibilities of ensuring a better life for all? In terms of Chapter 2 (Bill of Rights) of the Constitution of the RSA of 1996, all citizens of the country have a right to have their basic needs that promote their welfare met. Every government, therefore, must endeavour to promote the general welfare of its citizens. When PROGRAMME BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MODULE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 2A TOTAL MARKS 20 MARKS a legislature identifies a need for a service to be rendered to a community, the legislature or parliament will create a department to render such a service. Only the legislature has a right to create, abolish, merge or amalgamate departments. One of the processes of public administration is human resource, thus for services to be rendered by a department there is a need for personnel to be employed and attached to specific posts within the organisational structure of the particular department. This process is accompanied by; inter alia, allocation of functions, delegation of authority, creation of communication channels and behavioural relationships. Such personnel employed, sometimes referred to as functionaries, are charged with the task of ensuring that a department’s or a municipality’s goals are achieved through efficient, effective performance of duties, the requisite for success being ethical conduct and professionalism on the part of the functionaries. Put differently, there is little or no hope of success in the delivery of services if the public servants are not professional and their conduct not ethical. Ethics refers to the standard which guides the behaviour and actions of personnel in public institutions and which may be referred to as moral laws. The modernisation of methods and procedures as well as technological progress is useless if the personnel who must apply the methods and procedures do not aspire to high moral standards. The question is whether the South African public service is governed or characterised by a high standard of professional ethics or not. What is the reality on the ground and what effect does it have on public service delivery? Poor, dishonest management of public affairs and corruption (immoral acts) are among the most important manifestations of unethical conduct. Maladministration and corruption in the public sector are usually widely broadcast and exaggerated, largely because the public sector is spending taxpayers’ money. For practitioners in the public sector, especially for public managers, it is important that there be guidelines according to which they must cooperate and administer and direct the public service, and place subordinates on the right track precisely to prevent corruption and eliminate maladministration. Bureaucrats are often suspected of lining their own pockets at the cost of the citizens. Opportunities for public servants to be involved in unethical conduct arise from the power they exercise in both the development and administration of public policy. Activities constituting unethical conduct The South African Public Service is characterised by activities which constitute unethical conduct and the following may be mentioned as examples with a sample being explained:  Bribery, graft, patronage, nepotism and influence peddling  Conflict of interest, including activities such as making financial transactions for personal advantage, and accepting outside employment during tenure in government without declaring this  Misuse of inside knowledge, for example, through acceptance of a business appointment after retirement or resignation  Favouring relatives and friends in awarding contracts or arranging loans and subsidies  Accepting improper gifts and entertainment  Protecting incompetence  Regulating trade practices or lowering standards in such a manner as to give advantage to oneself or relatives  The use and abuse of official and confidential information for private purposes. Public servants are not simply employees of the state, but have a constitutional role to play. These employees must be responsive to the government of the day and play a vital role in ensuring a better life for all by enhancing service delivery through the efficient, economic and effective use of resources. Public servants, however, have lives beyond the office and sometimes these lives have an impact on their work performance. This begs for employee wellness from the perspective that employees are most productive when they are well physically, mentally and financially. The question is whether or not a public servant who is unable to manage his/her personal finances and is heavily trapped in financial debt is able to efficiently and effectively manage public resources and be productive enough to meet the expectations of the public and the principles of Batho Pele, which seek to enhance service delivery without unethical behaviour. Factors that may enhance professionalism and ethics in the public sector The following may be seen as factors that encourage ethical conduct and professionalism in the public sector:  Training in basic skills to carry out official duties. Such training may include financial management so that public servants are able to manage own finances.  The introduction of a career system based on merit appointments.  Well-articulated and fair human resource policies on remuneration and conditions of service, training and development programmes should be implemented.  Recognition of good work through incentives and correction of poor performance, thus nurturing professionalism and pride  Legalising the Code of Conduct and Batho Pele principles – these will then be enforced against misconduct ranging from unethical to criminal acts.  Strengthening of human resource capacity to investigate unethical conduct in departments. The PSC reports that in KwaZulu-Natal not enough resources were made available to create posts and employ staff for this purpose  Conflicts of interest are rampant in the public service and in municipalities.  Discontinuing dual employment. The PSC has noted that some public servants also serve as part time councillors and this poses a threat to honesty, especially in bidding.  Exemplary leadership and political will are needed to in still ethics and professionalism because at times the problems start from the top and permeate the institution. Junior officials take advantage of such situations. Source: Richard, T. (2015). Professional and Ethical Conduct in the Public Sector. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review.

QUESTION 1 One of the prime responsibilities of a government must be to build an environment of justice, transparency and trust. Discuss the factors that may cause unethical behaviour and what are the preventative measures that can be put in place within the public sector.

Answer 1

unethical behaviour amongst Public servants is observed mainly because of non transparency and lack of Independent audits being done in Government departments. Since the funds that are issued to departments are collected from taxes paid by the General public, they have all the right to know how, when and where the funds are being used. Public should have the right to report and order action against any department they feel is not working up to the mark or they believe funds are not being used properly. For example if it is declared that $200,000 were used to build a road in a particular area, and residents of that area do not see a new road, or they feel that the road built is of extremely poor quality they should have the right to raise concerns and order enquiry into the matter.

Personal and family's wealth of the public servants must be evaluated on a yearly basis by independent bodies, and any inappropriate increase in wealth in movable or immovable properties should be reported and a person should be made to explain the source of this income.

Dual employment should be strictly abolished and every one should declare that there is no conflict of interest in the jobs they are assigned to do.

pay packages and bonus should be reviewed on a yearly basis and strictly on merit basis. any employee having complaints against him from the public, should be marked negatively in the appraisals.

continuous training should take place to ensure Public servants are fully equipped to do their jobs, and also sensitised that the money they have in hand belongs to the general public and to the county, hence they should work as a caretaker for the Same and ensure that it is not being misused.

goal setting and targets should be given to Public servants in order to ensure that they are achieving the desired goals and that all the tasks are being done. For example if a locality was promised a new school and a new hospital in their vicinity, government sites must be updated clearly what is the target end date for both the project. and who are the officers responsible for various jobs. In case of delays the public has all the rights to know the reasons. also projected cost for the project should be mentioned with details like cost of construction, raw materials, etc.

when bidding happens for a government contract, it should happen online. the system should automatically select the lowest bidder with no or little manual intervention. Any contractor with a corrupt or poor track record should be blacklisted from the system and should not be allowed to submit bids.

additional bonuses should be given to employees who get good ratings from the public for their good work as motivation.