Thabo Mokone
THE Public Service Commission (PSC) is lobbying parliament to craft a law that will prohibit senior civil servants from doing business with government while in the employ of the state.
Presenting an analysis of corruption in national and provincial government departments to the portfolio committee on public service and administration, PSC director-general Richard Levin said barring top civil servants from doing business with the state was the only way to end corruption in the public service.
Levin's worrying analysis revealed that:
The national Transport Department had 31 senior managers with direct stakes in firms that got government tenders;
- Public Works had 41;
- Traditional Affairs had 37;
- National Health had 13; and
- Human Settlements had 21.
Levin's proposal seemed to carry favour with MPs from the ANC and the DA.
Committee chairman Joyce Moiloi-Moropa summed up their sentiments. "Your priority does not become the state. It becomes the business where you're enriching yourself as an individual ... it is a fundamental problem we need to deal with."
