Public complaints down 13.3 percent

The total number of complaints lodged by the public with the Public Service Commission (PSC) has declined by 13.3 percent, the commission said on Wednesday.

A total of 279 were filed with the PSC during the 2009/2010 financial year, as opposed to 322 lodged in 2008/2009, spokesman Humphrey Ramafoko said in a statement.

"This is the lowest number of complaints lodged with the PSC since the inception of the complaints rules and national anti-corruption hotline in 2002 and 2004 respectively," he said.

Ramafoko said the complaints came from both the public and public servants, as well as national and provincial members of parliament in the 2009/2010 financial year.

The majority of complaints, 56 percent, implicated national departments.

Only 30 percent of the complainants chose to remain anonymous.

"This increase in self-identification by complainants and whistleblowers could be indicative of the confidence they have in the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000, which states that whistleblowers should be protected," Ramafoko said.

Some complaints related to recruitment, selection and the filling of posts, while others concerned transgression of prescripts relating to supply chain management.

Most of the complaints -- about 42 percent -- were related to unethical behaviour linked to irregular filling of posts or the abuse of power.

Some 16 percent of the complaints concerned poor service delivery.

Ramafoko said this was not the case in the 2008/2009 financial year, where the second highest number of complaints related to human resources matters.

Fifty-eight percent of the complaints were finalised and closed. However, about 11 out of 15 complaints investigated by the PSC were not substantiated.

Ramafoko said the PSC recommended to departments to conduct workshops for employees on acceptable conduct in the way they dealt with the public.

"There is a need for the offices of the premiers to play an active role in ensuring that the complaints raised implicating provincial departments are addressed.

"At the national sphere, the department of public service and administration should ensure that complaints raised implicating national departments are also addressed," Ramafoko said.

The PSC believed this would help reduce corruption in the public service.