ID discs to fight corruption
JOHANNESBURG – Corruption is a crime that the MMC for Public Safety wishes to eradicate faster.
It may be cheaper to pay a bribe than a heavy traffic fine, but the MMC for Public Safety, Michael Sun warned that both the official and the citizen would be prosecuted for the offence.
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If community members decide to be an upstanding citizen instead, they could become an anti corruption-ambassador. “Never give money to any officer, or any City official including me, or offer any kind of benefit so the official does or does not do his or her job,” Sun said.
He said the culture of taking and giving bribes should be stopped and that if there is no supply, demand will quickly fade.
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True to this, the Department of Public Safety will, before the end of October ,roll out an anti-corruption ambassador programme.
“We have devised a strategy where we will hand out identification discs the same shape and size as a licence disc to supporting citizens. It will have a serial number and a clear message displaying that you are an ambassador for anti-corruption,” Sun said.
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“When a corrupt officer approaches and sees the disc, it becomes the first obstacle before asking or taking a bribe. An officer could also report a person if he was offered a bribe. We will conduct a roadshow to promote this. The more ambassadors that spread the word, the closer end of this market is.”
