17 Nov 2014

Employees are often entangled in corruption practices in one way or another often without them knowing it.

Ms Lebogang Mashadi, who is assistant tribal secretary for Letlhakeng region and Corruption Prevention Committee chairperson, told a four-day anti-corruption workshop in Letlhakeng recently that the problem was due to the fact that workers could not distinguish between corruption and maladministration.

Ms Mashadi thus called upon all workers to always be alert about corrupt tendencies normally from clients, such as giving out rewards like drinks for service done to them.

Employees must know that what they sometimes take or give may be pure corruption, she said, adding that the important aspect of the workshop was bribery as Dikgosi, Court bailiffs and court clerks, were always engaged in making judgments, arbitrating; and collecting revenues paid as fines, respectively.

The assistant tribal secretary further said the workshop aimed to familiarize members of the Corruption Prevention Committee with trends of corruption so that they could effectively run the CPC.

 One of the participants, Ms Banyana Phiri, a court clerk at Dutlwe  Customary Court, said she had benefited a lot from the workshop as she came blank on what was corruption and what was not. 

Ms Phiri said she was a revenue collector in her area and that ever since she was transferred to Dutlwe in January last year, she had never been audited, something that could also contribute to temptations and corruption.

She said that she had also learned that corruption cannot be completely eliminated; at least it can be controlled. Some of what she had learned was that gifts worth P100 and more must be declared in a certain form.

When officially closing the workshop, Kgosi Tumelo Puleng of Letlhakeng village said he had also learned a lot because, as a Kgosi, his understandings were that a Kgosi must accept any present from his people as was in the colonial era. 

He expressed shock to learn that it was corruption to accept some of the presents and said the workshop was indeed an eye opener. He encouraged all participants to read all the materials and handouts given to them by facilitators as it can make them grasp what they failed to get from them.

Kgosi Puleng asked the government to increase the budget that can teach the general public about what is corruption and the means of fighting against it.

The workshop, which was attended by 15 Dikgosi, 18 court clerks, 13 assistant court bailiffs, and 13 industrial class workers  from across Letlhakeng region, was organized by the area’s anti-corruption committee and was run by Ms Lesego Morwaanare and Tshepo Motlalekgosi, both from the Ministry of  Local Government and Rural Development. ENDS