ODAC would like to announce the release of the latest survey of public opinion in regard to whistleblowing for 2011, as prepared for by Ipsos Markinor. ODAC has been commissioning this annual survey since 2006 to monitor the public perceptions of whistleblowers and access to information, in order to properly inform our evidence-based advocacy.
Our Ipsos Markinor survey results for 2011 show that there has been a significant change in statistics from previous years in regard to whether South Africans believe whistleblowers should be protected – the former figure in 2010 of 69.6% has jumped to a convincing 87.5% in 2011 of those who believe that whistleblowers should be protected. Further, almost 20% of those polled stated they have blown the whistle themselves which is a positive reflection on citizens taking the civic responsibilities seriously.
Gabriella Razzano, the researcher at ODAC, said: “Although we are encouraged in this change of attitude in South Africans, the truth is that current laws aren’t enough to protect whistle-blowers locally. Citizens themselves note that these protections are not enough and this is an obvious conclusion when read alongside the startling figure that states that, between public and private sector corruption, South Africans lose in excess of R100 billion annually. This figure is more than the South African government was able to contribute to social grants in total for 2011.”
The results are all the more pertinent given the increasingly dangerous physical environment in which whistleblowers have to negotiate in South Africa. Currently under wya, for example, is the murder trial of the whistleblower Moss Phakoe in the North West High Court (it is believed he was assassinated by former executive mayor Matthew Wolmarans and associates for blowing the whistle on corruption in Rustenburg). With the risks being so high, it unsurprising that only 29.9% of respondents believe that the Protected Disclosures Act adequately protects whistle-blowers - it offers, after all, nothing more than labour protections were it is literally the lives of whistle-blowers that require preservation.
The results are clear. South Africans believe that whistle-blowers are an essential part of the South African societal fabric. In a country where it is believed a quarter of state expenditure is lost through overpayment and corruption, access to information and the protection of whistle-blowers are essential democratic tools for improving transparency. ODAC calls on the government to use 2012 as the year to reform and improve on protections for whistle-blowers, or risk losing legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens.