Cape Town - Activist group STOP CoCT has cautiously welcomed the City’s call for public comment on its revised fraud prevention policy, fraud response plan, and whistle-blowing policy.
At the weekend, the City’s finance department announced that public comment could be submitted from August 1 to 31.
Finance Mayco member Siseko Mbandezi said the policies detail the City’s responsibilities in terms of prevention and detection of fraud, corruption and maladministration by its staff, municipal entities, agents, contractors, suppliers or service providers.
“Public money and programmes must be safeguarded and cannot be lost to fraud and corruption. We are seeing elsewhere in the country how this destabilises government and society, and the devastating impact it has on service delivery,” he said.
Mbandezi said revisions to the fraud prevention policy clarified everyone’s roles and responsibilities – including politicians, staff, contractors and suppliers – in the management of public funds. They also reinforced the City’s commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption.
STOP CoCT founder Sandra Dickinson said the policies currently allowed investigations to be conducted at the City’s discretion, which closeted proceedings from public scrutiny.
Many investigations of fraud in the City were conducted in secret and never made public, she said. “Line management is the first point where an allegation is referred to … This, allows line management to ‘investigate itself’.
“As long as the City has the policy of keeping investigations secret, it will never be able to deal with fraud and maladministration effectively. It would be much more effective if an independent outside body conducted these investigations in an impartial way from the onset,” Dickinson said.
More info on the policies can be found at: www.capetown.gov.za/HaveYourSay
Written comments can be submitted to: [email protected] or through ward councillors and sub-council offices.