By Akani Nkuna
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has called for stronger accountability measures across government, warning that persistent corruption and wasteful expenditure continue to undermine public confidence in the state.
Speaking at the Public Sector Governance and Compliance Conference (PSGCC) in Pretoria on Thursday, Didiza said South Africa must confront governance failures and ensure that laws and systems are robust enough to prevent unsuitable individuals from occupying positions of public trust.
“It also implies that our laws and governance systems must be able to filter out the characters that were not envisioned by our forebears who drafted the Constitution,” she said.
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“To rebuild public trust in government as the vehicle to improve citizens’ living standards, it requires us to address corruption and wasteful expenditure reported by the Auditor-General on an annual basis. It requires our municipalities to provide reliable water and sanitation infrastructure — the basic services people need daily.”
The conference, held at Capital Menlyn Maine, brought together government officials, members of the judiciary and oversight institutions under the theme “Restoring Trust in Public Sector Governance”, focusing on public scrutiny, fiscal pressures and service delivery challenges.
Didiza said South Africa was not lacking in policy frameworks, pointing to the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy, and the National Development Plan (NDP) as key guiding instruments.
“As members of Parliament, we must create laws that are responsive to societal needs. As academics we must produce impactful research and students who possess the skills required for our economy,” she said.
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She added that citizens, civil society and trade unions must play a stronger role in confronting corruption, weak service delivery and exploitation, stressing that mediocrity in public institutions and anti-competitive behaviour in the private sector should not be tolerated.
Didiza said rebuilding trust in governance requires a clear understanding of societal challenges and stronger state capacity, adding that Parliament’s seventh administration is prioritising responsive and transformative legislation.
Guided by the principle of batho pele, she said government interventions must prioritise improving the lives of citizens who rely on the state.
“In assessing the needs of the people, we should not view them as recipients of grants but as dignified fellow combatants in the building of a South Africa that our Constitution promises,” she said.
