adminBradwell Mhonderwa Business Ethics
Elections have come and gone and almost everyone is agreeable that it can no longer be business as usual as the nation seeks to focus on the economy.As the country emerges from the post-inclusive Government and election mode, it is imperative that we raise the bar on ethical practices in the way we do things.
The appointment of a new government clearly provides the nation with veracity to implement impactful ethical measures in business and public institutions.
Certainly, public institutions operate under public trust, and they must constantly earn that trust through the provision of services that are of high quality, fully accountable and of unquestionable integrity.
Civil servants whether in police, army, education, health, or any other public department must exhibit high ethical standards that the public expects and demands, and every public service institution must have an ethics strategy in place to ensure that these expectations are fulfilled.
A public sector institution is an organisation funded by public funds, and with a specific public service mandate established under law.
As such, all public institutions and their staff must honour the trust that the public places in them to exercise good stewardship of public resources, and to be open and accountable to the public all the time.
Public institutions are commonly granted various forms of authority under law to enable them to perform their duties.
In some cases, as with the police, tax officials, and the courts, officers are legally empowered to exercise some form of coercive power to achieve their mission, for example, compelling citizens to pay taxes.
We, however, have become accustomed to instances where such power is abused, sometimes with impunity, when public officers engage in corrupt activities, bribery, arbitrary arrests, and intimidation of the general public.
Public officers who have the power to run these public entities must always carry the burden of accountability to justify why they exercise such power, and the manner in which they do so must inspire confidence so that the public understands that the use of such measures is necessary, reasonable, in accordance with the law.
They must execute their duties to the greatest extent possible without inflicting undue pain, or disrespecting the dignity of those who are being compelled to comply.
The basic economic transaction of making payments to public institutions in exchange for services implies an expectation that the services will satisfy the public need, and that the payment will be appropriate to the services being provided.
Members of the public support public institutions through the payment of taxes and other prescribed fees, and in turn have expectations of a certain standard of service in return.
The public will definitely lose confidence in public institutions when these become predatory and greedy, levying extortionate service charges and possibly taking advantage of the public’s naivety and helplessness.
A civil servant is called a “servant” to make it explicit that the employment of such a person is intended to further a public good, not some other vested interests.
Public servants are entrusted with the health, finances, safety and well-being of those whom they serve, and with the ethical stewardship of the tax payers’ money.
Civil servants are morally obliged to perform their duties in the public interest, and with impartiality.
They must be willing to subject themselves to constant public scrutiny, and must all the time prove that they are truthful, transparent and accountable. Transparency and accountability in the public service must go even further, with all public officers, appointed or elected, being required to declare their assets, and any perceived, or actual conflict of interest that may adversely affect their performance.
The Government, through the Public Service Commission, has ethical obligations to their employees, which include the duty to provide civil servants with decent salaries, better working conditions, and regular and objective performance reviews.
Public institutions are obliged to respect the confidentiality of their employees, and to be open and responsive to any ethical concerns or red flags that employees may raise.
Public sector institutions must protect employees from victimisation and retribution when they report unethical practices and sexual harassment including other self-serving manipulative work relationships must be nipped in the bud.
Without doubt, the most effective and persuasive means for upholding ethical practices within public institutions is when leaders in the sector, elected or appointed, undergo ethical leadership training and exemplify ethical behaviour.
The existence of leaders who are committed to sound ethical practices, who demand this from their subordinates, and who model such behaviour, is what drives impactful transformation in organisations.
This means those who are chosen to occupy public office must make ethics their personal project and allow the ethics vocabulary to do the talking in their everyday speak.
Ethical leadership will help civil servants to become ethics champions who demonstrate care, integrity, courtesy, and competence as they interface with the public.
If the nation wants civil servants who are ethical, then the public service must teach those ethical skills and not leave civil servants to acquire such skills by chance.
Public institutions must embrace formal ethics management processes to mitigate misdemeanours and improve institutional competitiveness.
Implementation of effective ethics infrastructure must form part of the broader public management reform process currently being undertaken through the introduction of the Results-Based Management System (RBMS).
Indeed, it is by integrating the RBMS with formal ethics management processes that improved performance and delivery in the public service can be realised.
Public institutions must understand that anchoring public sector reform on ethics will inspire and rekindle civil servants’ commitment towards fulfilling their responsibility to serve the public with impartiality and utmost professionalism.
The public sector must be compliant ethically for this is what the people want and that is what the new Government must ensure.
Bradwell Mhonderwa is an Ethics Coach and Trainer with the Business Ethics Centre. Send feedback to [email protected], or call 0772 913 875
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