29 Jul 2019

Deeds Registry recently commemorated its second anti-corruption day under the theme: ‘Embedding Ethical and Anti-corruption Practices,’ as a way of inculcating the zero tolerance for corruption message in its employees.

Registrar of Deeds Ms Tiny Keseabetswe said the day was an occasion for employees to remind each other of the importance of saying ‘No’ to corruption.

Speaking at the event, Ministry of Land Management Water and Sanitation senior project officer Mr Jacob Moleele encouraged the employees to look at their work situations to see if there were any opportunities for corruption.

“Read the laws and policies of your work station now and then. That way you will know when somebody is engaging in corruption,” he said.

Mr Moleele said policies were already in place, all that remained was for them to be read and followed.“It is very tempting to practise favouritism when awarding tenders but PPADB laws have to be followed so that people do not award tenders to their friends and distant relatives,” he said.

He encouraged people to report corrupt leaders instead of just saying they were ‘eating alone’.

“It is high time we end the syndrome that one day we will be in the same positions and do the same because it is wrong,” he said.

Guest speaker,  Mr Godfrey Onkokame of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) pointed out that the potential for corruption existed at the Deeds registry.

“You are the first line of protection for people. They come to you to protect their property of which some is very questionable, hence the need to scan it,” he said.

He encouraged them to find ways of working with DCEC to scan any suspicious trusts.

“It is important to talk more about corruption in our work stations so that those who are corrupt can eventually see that they are being watched,” he said.

In her closing remarks, Deeds Registry coordinator Ms Keamogetse Keorapetse urged the employees not to be hearers only but doers of all that they had learnt.

She also stressed the importance of sensitisation on issues of corruption not only in their work places but in the public service as a whole. Ends