Ethics, codes of conduct, morals and professionalism as a bulwark against corruption and unethical conduct in the public sector: a case of South Africa

Abstract

This paper endeavours to critically examine ethics in South Africa especially after the first democratic elections and later developments. Such an analysis will inevitably overspill to the quality of service delivery and participation. As such there is a need for ethics to be re-examined and investigate how this may be used to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the South African government service. Much has been written on ethics and their relevance to the public sector organisations. Indeed they are critical for service delivery for both sectors namely, private and public sectors. This paper will trace the origins and development of ethics and their relationship with other associated terms such as morals, codes of conduct and relate same to the guidelines emanating from the South African Constitution Act (Act 108 of 1996). Once this objective has been achieved the position of ethics to our daily lives from individual and citizenship perspective will be explored. By such investigation it is envisaged to reposition ethics to our working environment as a vehicle that supports and fuels accelerated quality decision-making and service delivery. In that way it will be possible to locate the area of responsibility and accountability in the public sector. One will also examine the power-authority-responsibility triangle relative to ethics, ethical conduct, codes of conduct, and professionalism and indicate how these can be effectively applied to address issues of violation of human right through fundamental deprivation of critical services and products.