CORRUPTION
Corrupt companies to be blacklisted
Posted Thu, 24 Mar 2005
Companies guilty of corrupt practices will in future be blacklisted under resolutions adopted at the second anti-corruption conference in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The conference also resolved to strengthen legislation to protect whistle blowers and the capacity of law enforcement agencies to seize assets obtained through elicit or corrupt means.
Civil society groups, meanwhile, undertook to prepare a research report on corruption under apartheid and present this to the National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) for consideration within six months.
The second day of talks almost did not get underway on Wednesday with delegates at loggerheads over a set of resolutions handed out overnight, said Business Unity South Africa's Hassen Lorgat.
A set of reworded resolutions was finally adopted by early Wednesday afternoon.
Opening the conference on Tuesday, President Thabo Mbeki said a deliberate plan of work with defined responsibility and accountability arrangements
was necessary if the fight against corruption was to be effective.
Describing the outcome as "very successful" NACF head Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said there had been a sense of "coming together".
While acknowledging progress since the first conference in 1999, delegates this year recognised "that there are still a number of outstanding challenges which we need to tackle together".
They resolved to encourage whistleblowing and reporting in all sectors and strengthen measures to protect all who exposed corruption and unethical practices from victimisation.
There appeared to be a lack of understanding about whistleblowing legislation, Fraser-Moleketi, also minister of Public Service and Administration, said.
The government had to familiarise people not only with the legislation, but also with their responsibilities and accountability, she said.
Delegates also resolved that ethics training take place in walks of life, including schools.
They further
resolved to audit the state of ethics in the country.
The NACF has been given just three months to translate the resolutions into a programme of action.
Other resolutions include better coordination among the agencies responsible for combating corruption and the institution of anti-corruption task teams in areas where corruption is endemic.
The conference also decided that oversight functions of Parliamentary structures at provincial and national level be strengthened and that a research initiative be established to monitor implementation of Parliamentary resolutions on corruption.
It further recommended the review of financial disclosure framework of public representatives and senior public managers, and its extension to include senior management in local government, parastatals and public officials with responsibilities in procurement.
The conference hoped to encourage business to apply the financial disclosure to company directors.
Sapa
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