Promoting ethical leadership and good governance: Response to public sector corruption in South Africa

Corruption is endemic in public sector institutions in South Africa (SA) and internationally. Although much has been published on public sector corruption in SA in the media, a dearth of literature exists that addresses the subject matter from an empirical perspective. The aim of this paper is to determine the nature and extent of corruption in public sector institutions in SA. The objective of the paper is to provide a solution to address the increasing levels of corruption in the SA public sector. A descriptive research design was therefore deemed appropriate for this purpose. The data for this study was collected from multiple sources; mainly books, academic journals, reports, newspapers and other records. An extensive literature review was undertaken on the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of corruption and the nature and extent of corruption in the SA public service. A thematic analysis was undertaken that Identified recurring themes or patterns in the data by categorizing and coding the data. The possible impact of public sector corruption in SA is reported on. Also, public sector institutions in SA including State Owned Entities (SOEs) encounter higher levels of corruption owing to various challenges encountered such as poor internal control mechanisms, a lack of adherence to public procurement policies, unethical procurement practices, weak whistle-blower’s protection mechanisms, political interference for private gain, and a lack of overall good governance practices such as transparency and accountability.’ Based on the findings of the study, recommendations are made to address the significantly increasing levels of corruption in public sector institutions in SA. An ethical leadership and good governance approach is recommended as part of a multi-pronged anti-corruption strategy to address corruption in the SA public sector, which entails amongst others aspects, the revamping or improvement of procurement policies, the strengthening of internal control mechanisms in public institutions; strengthening the adherence to public procurement policies, promoting ethical practices; establishing whistle-blower’s protection mechanisms; enforcing anti-corruption policies, appropriate sanctions, the strengthening of good governance and the promotion of ethics, codes of good conduct and professionalism. The aim of the study is to address the fragmented approach and prevent and curb corruption in the SA public sector. The coordination and collaboration between the various law enforcement agencies, and the establishment of a special court for corruption, are other factors to be considered to curb and prevent corruption in the SA public sector. These recommendations could apply to all public sector institutions in SA and abroad.