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Following President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech on Sunday, Omphemetse Sibanda, reflects on the country's whistleblower laws, which he says provides little safety to those who choose to speak out.
The protection of whistleblowers has taken centre stage in the South African public discourse. The spotlight around safety concerns deserves to be shone on the those who lift the lid on the criminal enterprise. This is all thanks to President Cyril Ramaphosa's public address on Sunday on his plans to implement the Zondo Commission report.
Many would consider the President's public address as yet another story of old wine in new bottles. The anti-climax of Cyril Ramaphosa's speech aside, his efforts must be commended. But, his ANC-led government could do more to protect whistleblowers.
More needs to be done
I am reminded of the 2014 statement by Stephen Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistle-blower Centre, who said:
"The right of every … citizen to truthfully testify about criminal activities, including fraud in government contracting, is a cornerstone to democracy. Criminals – even if they are high-ranking elected officials or billionaire bankers, cannot retaliate against any person who truthfully testifies about their crimes."
Kohn was reflecting on the US Supreme Court landmark whistleblower decision in the case of Lane v. Franks in 2014.
The nub of the decision is that the US Supreme Court declared whistleblowing to be constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment when "public corruption" is an issue.
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I share a similar view as many others in that the South African government can do better to protect whistleblowers. Lauding Ramaphosa as if he is the panacea to our country's challenges will not take us any further.
Institutions such as the legislature need to come to the party and, without delay, introduce solid and game-changing legal reforms to protect whistleblowers. Our judiciary must also show that it has the fortitude to protect everyone in the country by coming up with sound and ground-breaking decisions and punishments just as the US Supreme Court did in its Lane v. Franks ruling.
Too late for some
Of course, it will be too late for victims such as Babita Deokaran, who died while trying to expose corruption. Another one who has lost out is whistleblower Mike Tshishonga. Because of the inherent weaknesses in the current whistleblowing and witness protection legislation in South Africa, Tshishonga was treated horribly for trying to reveal corruption in justice system concerning liquidations.
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The list of those who went to their grave for trying to blow a whistle on corruption is endless. Those lucky to still be alive have to endure harrowing experiences for their attempted good deeds. These heroes are constantly under fire, and it would take a very caring government to extinguish this fire and introduce immediate protective measures for whistleblowers.
So far, the current whistleblower protection laws do not afford whistleblowers any safe alternative unless they choose silence. Men and women who choose to blow the whistle on corrupt practices have to contend with using the broken system which only affords them protection after they have suffered retaliation. This damaged system, which in my view ranks poorly against international developments, needs to be fixed with immediate effect. Otherwise, it will be a case of cry the beloved whistleblowers.
- Professor Omphemetse Sibanda is the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management and Law at the University of Limpopo.
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