UKZN’s Local Governance Expert Reflects on South Africa’s Municipal Ethics at International Conference

BY: .

During the past two decades, the level of trust and confidence in municipal officials in South Africa has declined because they are often perceived as being corrupt, discredited and quite often not in touch with the basic needs of local communities.

This is according to Professor Purshottama Reddy of the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance who shared insights on South Africa’s municipal ethics at the 2016 annual conference of the American Society of Public Administration Conference in Seattle in the United States.

Under the conference theme: “New Traditions in Public Administration, Reflecting on Challenges and Harnessing Opportunities”, Reddy delivered a presentation titled: “Municipal Ethics in South Africa: Theory and Practice: Quo Vadis”?

The paper highlights that the level of trust and confidence in municipal officials in South Africa had declined in the past two decades as they were often perceived as being corrupt, discredited and quite often not in touch with the basic needs of local communities.

‘There has been a marked increase in corruption of late, despite the constitutional and legislative provisions in place for promoting ethical conduct,’ said Reddy.

‘Some of the recommendations made for enhancing ethical conduct in local government included, inter alia,  the need for political and management will; professionalisation, education and training; exemplifying the ethical behavior of executive municipal functionaries and strengthening the role of civil society.’

Reddy also took part in a debate on Indigenous Culture, Ethics and Corruption, which reviewed experiences in several countries.

As a member of the American Society of Public Administration, Reddy also attended an editorial board meeting of Public Administration Review, a flagship journal of the American Society of Public Administration-one of the most rated journals in the public administration discipline internationally.

 Thandiwe Jumo