ISS Conference: Corruption in Service Delivery: Policy Priorities for South Africa, 2009 and Beyond

Date: 2008-11-26 to Invalid date

ISS Conference: Corruption in Service Delivery: Policy Priorities for South Africa, 2009 and Beyond
Pretoria, 26-27 November 2008

 

Convened and hosted by the ISS Corruption and Governance Programme*

 

Access to basic services such as primary education, shelter, health care, adequate water and sanitation is a right that is enshrined in the South African Constitution and recognized by various international conventions, including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Notwithstanding the progress made towards the realisation of this right for the poor and the disadvantaged a number of significant barriers still exist. Corruption is one such barrier.

 

A growing body of cross-country research indicates that corruption, the misuse of entrusted power for private gain, is associated with reduced effectiveness of public service provision. Studies undertaken across a broad range of countries across the world have provided concrete evidence on ways in which corruption weakens public service provision both directly and indirectly. Corruption compromises the budget allocation for service delivery, which makes it impossible to make services work for the poor. Impact on the expenditure side of the budget is even more direct and clear as government resources that could otherwise be used to make services work for the poor are wasted through weak tender systems and misallocation of resources.

 

While empirical research on the impact of corruption on public service provision in South Africa is still at an early stage, it is widely acknowledged that fraud and corruption are one of the major barriers to improved access to public services. Left unchecked, this can eventually undermine public confidence in constitutional democracy itself.  A number of policies have been designed to address this problem – culminating in the adoption of a National Public Service Anti-Corruption Strategy, and more recently the Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy. These accountability arrangements are generally regarded as world-class examples of good practice. These achievements notwithstanding, corruption and the slow pace of public service provision remain amongst the most important challenges facing government. As the present administration concludes its term it is pertinent to review the contribution of these accountability arrangements in tackling the vexing issue of corruption in public service provision, and to project what tasks lie ahead for the incumbent government. Recent social upheavals such as the spate of community protests and the xenophobic violence make the relevance of such a review even more compelling.

 

Against this background the Institute for Security Studies’ Corruption and Governance programme is pleased to convene and host a national conference on the issue of corruption in service delivery, which will be held at the Southern Sun (Beatrix Street) in Pretoria from 26 to 27 November 2008. This will be an opportunity for all interested elected and appointed government officials, members of civil society and researchers to deliberate on the South African corruption and service provision challenge and on efforts to combat corruption in this regard.

 

 We would therefore like to invite you to join us as we explore the following issues:

• Are we learning from the post-1994 efforts to combat corruption in the provision of public services in South Africa?

• Are the national and local government anti-corruption strategies adequate in preventing and detecting corruption?

• Reducing corruption in service delivery: what works, what does not work and why?

• What contribution can civil society make in tackling the challenge of corruption in service delivery?

• What should be on government’s policy agenda if it is serious about tackling corruption in the provision of public services, from 2009 and beyond?

 

* About the ISS Corruption and Governance Research Project

 

The conference is a culmination of a two-year research project, which sought to examine and assess the implementation of accountability arrangements to combat corruption in the provision of housing, education and social services at national and provincial government levels; municipal capacity to combating corruption generally; and the link between corruption, public service provision and community protests.  The national, provincial and local government analyses used, as points of departure, the public service and local government anti-corruption strategies. The bulk of the research was undertaken between 2006 and 2007 and involved qualitative face-to-face interviews with key actors from government and civil society, across selected provinces, municipalities and national departments, as well as a quantitative survey and the use of secondary information.

 

For more information, please contact Ms Natashia Emmett, Tel: (021) 461 7211; Email: [email protected].

 

The project and conference have been made possible through generous funding from the Royal Danish Embassy (Pretoria)
Additional support for the conference was received from the Royal Norwegian Embassy (Pretoria)

 

Conference Documentation