SA urged to blow the horn on corruption

A whistle-blowing campaign was launched in Cape Town on Monday with a call to create a culture of exposing corruption.

Alison Tilley, head of the Open Democracy Advice Centre, said at the event that there was a desperate need to create a culture of whistle-blowing in South Africa.

"Corruption and fraud costs South Africans in excess of R100 billion each year. It is eating at the very fabric of our society," Tilley said.

"Fighting corruption starts with individuals. Small acts of courage can have a massive impact."

National Whistle-Blowing Week is funded by the Dutch embassy.

The campaign seeks to encourage South Africans to blow the whistle on corruption, and equip potential whistle-blowers with access to information on the Protected Disclosures Act.

The act supports and protects whistle-blowers.

"We are very concerned that the number of whistle-blowers is dropping. We want to encourage them to keep coming forward," Tilley said.

Research by Transparency International had ranked South Africa 55th out of 180 countries in a 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.

"The very core of what we stand for as a nation is in danger. It is up to the person on the street to stand up and say no to wrongdoing in all sectors of business and government," Tilley said.

National Whistle-Blowing Week could not have come at a better time in South Africa, she said.

The launch of the event was marked by a three-metre high whistle at Church Square in the Cape Town city centre.

Dozens of passers-by were handed whistles and encouraged to "blow" to show their support for the campaign.