SA's eDisclosure system used as yardstick to help other countries

South Africa’s electronic disclosure system (eDisclosure) continues to shine on the African map, following a second invite to share the invention with a neighbouring country.

In November 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) invited the Department of Public Service (DPSA) to share the system’s experience with neighbouring Botswana. This followed an earlier invite to share the experience with Malawi in September 2022.

As the custodian of the system, the DPSA’s Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEID-TAU) shared information on the eDisclosure System with the Ethics and Integrity Directorate (EID) of Botswana. This was to ensure that the neighbouring country complies with the United Nations Convention against Corruption’s (UNCAC) requirements regarding asset declaration.

The UNODC is providing technical assistance to all members of the UNCAC to ensure implementation of the Convention. The PAEID-TAU was requested to present the eDisclosure system as a case study during the training session.

The UNCAC is a legally binding instrument adopted by the UN in 2003 and was ratified by 187 states. South Africa and Botswana are both signatories to this Convention. Botswana’s EID is mandated to manage the asset declarations of about 4 000 public officials, including public servants, politicians and judges. The PAEID-TAU also presented this case study to the Office of the Director of Public Officers Declarations of Malawi in September 2022.

A Director in the PAEID-TAU, Ms Pleasure Matshego, who developed the eDisclosure System explained that the system was developed in 2000 and gradually evolved until it became an electronic system in 2016 to detect conflicts of interest.

The system allows designated public servants from level 9 to level 16 to disclose financial interests – annually for senior management service members and bi-annually for non-senior management service members.

Disclosure of financial interests is compulsory and is regulated by regulations 18 and 19 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016. Information that must be disclosed includes amongst others: properties, vehicles, business interests and other remunerative work.

The national and provincial ethics officers scrutinise the submitted information and compare it to databases from the electronic National Traffic Information System, the Deeds Office, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and databases maintained by departments, such as gifts registers and the register for employees having permission to conduct other remunerative work.

Dual declaration

By comparing information to external databases, available on the eDisclosure system, the information of public servants is verified for accuracy. This enables ethics officers to detect conflicts of interest and provides them with a tool to perform lifestyle reviews and identify employees with unexplained wealth.

Matshego said with the element of lifestyle audits introduced, the South African financial disclosure system is currently adapting to become a dual declaration system that is similar to that of Botswana. Botswana’s EID and PAEIDTAU also shared insights on challenges experienced by newly established Anti-Corruption and Ethics units. This highlighted the need for ethics and integrity bodies in Southern African to work together to develop a sustainable model of ethics management for the region.