Calls rise for independent whistleblowing agency, mandatory protection for whistleblowers

Anti-corruption civil society bodies are calling for an independent whistleblowing agency and mandatory protection for all whistleblowers and their families.

As Stellenbosch University’s Anti-Corruption Centre on Tuesday held the first Babita Deokaran memorial lecture on World Anti-Corruption Day, the Inclusive Society Institution and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) bemoaned inadequate legislation to protect whistleblowers.

While Deokaran was killed outside her home four years ago, on Friday, Marius van der Merwe met the same fate after just recently testifying anonymously at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

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OUTA chief executive officer (CEO) Wayne Duvenage has warned that unless the protection framework is tightened, van der Merwe won’t be the last whistleblower to pay with his life.

Living in perpetual fear and trepidation, Duvenage said that this is the experience of all whistleblowers because the system is failing those who work for good, while favouring corrupt networks.

He said that since the Zondo Commission of Inquiry recommended a whistleblowing agency, there’s been no reform.

“Protecting whistleblowers is not charity. It is the very foundation of a functioning democracy.”

Meanwhile, Inclusive Society Institute CEO Daryl Swanepoel said that Deokaran’s death was as a result of inadequate legislation.

“South Africa’s whistleblower regime has become little more than a paper armour. It is outdated, underfunded, inconsistently implemented and deeply disconnected from the lived realities of whistleblowers who challenge well-organised corruption.”

Swanepoel is calling for a secure digital reporting mechanism that protects identity and protectionof all whistleblowers within 72 hours of making a disclosure.

He’s also proposing an independent whistleblower agency be funded through a fixed percentage of all proceeds recovered from corruption cases.

Swanepoel believes it should be a criminal offence to intimidate, harass or endanger the life of a whistleblower and that companies that do so should be barred from state procurement.