City of , on the forefront of ethics and the fight against fraud and corruption

The continues to be a leader in efforts to combat fraud and corruption and the institutionalising of ethics in Local Government with the Executive Mayor, Alderman , spearheading the drive to ensure that the City of Cape Town is corruption-free and maintains an ethical culture.

The Executive Mayor is known for her commitment to eradicating fraud and corruption and embedding ethical behaviour at the City of Cape Town and has also expressed herself on these important issues on more than one occasion:

“Corruption is a serious, often insidious crime that pervades all levels of government and business and undermines social and economic development. Corruption impacts service delivery, as well as education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and development. If corruption is not effectively curbed, the poor will suffer the most.”

“Each individual must commit to raising the ethical benchmark buy ‘doing the right thing’ regardless of who is watching – this should be the one constant in each individual’s behaviour….”

Towards the end of every year, there are two important events on the international anti- corruption calendar. One is International Fraud Awareness Week which fell during the week of 13 to 19 November this year and the other, International Anti-Corruption Day which typically falls on 9 December each year.

These events provide an ideal opportunity for the City of Cape Town’s Forensics, Ethics and Integrity Department (FEID) to promote awareness of the City’s firm commitment to combating fraud and corruption and inculcating ethical decision-making into the day-to-day business activities of each employee. FEID is hosting events on the Concourse of the City’s Civic Centre, a venue frequented by members of the Cape Town public as well as City employees, to mark these important dates on the international calendar.

FEID enjoys the unwavering support of the Executive Mayor and the Head of the City’s Administration (City Manager), Mr Achmat Ebrahim, who has stated as follows:

“There is no doubt that the City has established itself as an institution committed to eradicating corruption, fraud and other misconduct. It not only has the will and the requisite policies in place to effectively combat corruption, it also has the means.” FEID has indeed been equipped with various tools to assist in carrying out its mandate, in addition to those already provided for in national legislation and regulations. These include inter alia, an externally managed Hotline for reporting instances of fraud, corruption and unethical conduct, a well-developed Fraud Prevention Policy and Fraud Response Plan, a Whistle Blowing Policy and an Ethics Code. In addition, the City has implemented an electronic form for completion of declarations of interests by all City officials and will commence with the automation of private work applications and declarations of gifts. These measures will contribute to ensuring that private interests do not influence City officials in the course of fulfilling their duties and that they discharge their duties independently and objectively.

A key contributor to the effective combating of corruption and promotion of ethical behaviour at the City has been that the power to institute forensic and ethics investigations in the City’s Administration, vests with the City Manager. Consequently, FEID reports its findings and recommendations to the City Manager who ensures that FEID is allowed to operate independently and free from undue influence. The Director of FEID, Mr Vincent Botto has confirmed that to date, he has been permitted to “tackle the fight against fraud and corruption without fear, favour or prejudice”.

The City nonetheless remains pertinently aware that its efforts to combat fraud and corruption and embed an ethical culture in its business, will not be as effective without the support of external stakeholders who are also involved in the same fight, which is striving to combat corruption and fraud, bringing offenders to book and working towards a corruption-free society where ethical behaviour is the order of the day. A number of these external stakeholders are participating in this year’s events hosted by the City to highlight International Fraud Awareness Week and International Anti-Corruption Day. The City welcomes the participation of representatives from the Hawks, the Open Democracy Advice Centre, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the Public Protector and the Government Forensic Services Unit.

FEID is also always grateful for the support and solidarity shown by its assurance provider partners within the City of Cape Town which this year includes the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Integrated Risk Management Department.

The City of Cape Town’s Forensics, Ethics and Integrity Department hosts an Annual Fraud Awareness Event, partnering with key role players in the continued commitment to raise fraud awareness and encourage ethical conduct in rooting out corruption

L to R: Clarissa Williams – Ombudsman’s Office; Cindy Pierce – Integrated Risk Management; Ronelle Hüsselmann – Provincial Forensic Services; Lorraine Martin – Open Democracy Advice Centre; Achmat Ebrahim – City Manager of the City of Cape Town; Tsietsi Shuping – Public Protector’s Office; Anthea Snyder – Hawks; Vincent Botto – Director Forensics, Ethics and Integrity (City Of Cape Town); Mark Phillips – Special Investigating Unit.