Introduction
- breaches or likely breaches of the law;
- miscarriages of justice;
- environmental degradation;
- endangerment of individual and community health and safety; and
- Waste, appropriation or mismanagement of public resources.
Brief Background of the Act
The Freedom of Information and the Whistleblowers Act protects whistleblowers against victimization in any form including: dismissal, suspension, redundancy, denial of promotion, unfair transfer, harassment, intimidation, threats and discrimination.
The Act has made provision to reward whistleblowers whose disclosures would lead to the arrest and conviction of a person or the discovery of misappropriated money.
The Act forms part of the need to reduce corruption in order to achieve the necessary poverty reduction, meet the Millennium Development Goals and move
The act is also enacted to provide for the manner in which individuals may in the public interest disclose information that relates to unlawful, corrupt or other illegal conduct or practices in the country.
It further ensured that persons who make the disclosures are not subjected to victimization, recognizes that corrupt and other illegal conduct in the organs of State, the private sector and other institutions in society undermines efficiency, accountability and transparency in governance and good corporate practice. The Whistleblower's bill was passed by Parliament and given assent on 20th October 2006.
The act is the culmination of stakeholder consultations and lobbying by civil society groups to enhance probity and accountability in the use of government resources. It outlines the instances and processes through which employees can disclose information on the illegal conduct or corrupt actions of their employers or fellow employees without fear of retribution.
The law allows the whistleblower to disclose the misuse of public funds to various groups. Consequently, the whistleblower is presented with several options on whom to disclose the information to. These include:
- the whistleblower’s employer;
- a police officer;
- the attorney general;
- the auditor general;
- a staff member of the intelligence agencies;
- a member of Parliament;
- the Serious Fraud Office;
- the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice;
- the National Media Commission;
- the Narcotics Control Board;
- a traditional chief;
- a minister of state; or
- the Office of the President.
Where a disclosure is made to any of these persons or institutions, the recipient of the information must investigate the matter or refer it to the attorney general or other body as directed by the attorney general, who will initiate an investigation into the disclosure.
Protection and Immunity
A whistleblower is not liable to civil or criminal proceedings in respect of the disclosure unless it is proven that the whistleblower knew that the disclosure was false or that it was made with malicious intent. Additionally, a provision in an employment contract or other agreement between an employer and an employee is void if it seeks to preclude or discourage an employee from making a disclosure, instituting a court action or claiming a remedy for victimization.
Relevance to Corporate Governance
The whistleblower’s role in strengthening public sector corporate governance cannot be overemphasized. It provides a check on the actions of persons charged with the management of institutions that use public funds. Recent financial scandals - including the infamous Enron disaster - speak volumes about the importance of whistle blowing in ensuring accountability and good governance.
In
Comment
The law makes significant inroads into corporate governance but in a culture where telling tales on others is highly frowned upon, the law can have its desired effect only if the public conscience is alerted to the need for vigilance and public sector accountability and, ultimately, if people are prepared to blow the whistle on wrongdoing.
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