TimesLIVE reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa says the fight against corruption has gained momentum since the state capture inquiry started its work and the government must urgently review its approach to the broader protection of whistleblowers by tightening existing laws and policies.

The president made these remarks on Monday in his weekly newsletter. They followed the fatal shooting of Babita Deokaran, a senior finance official in the Gauteng health department.   Deokaran was a long-time whistleblower who exposed alleged irregularity and corruption in the department. She had been a key witness in the Special Investigating Unit’s investigation into fraudulent Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts. Questions have been raised around the protection of key witnesses following Deokaran’s murder. “It is clear that as the fight against corruption gathers momentum, we need to urgently review our current approach not only to witness protection, but also to the broader protection of whistleblowers. We need to tighten up existing systems and provide greater support to those who publicly come forward with information. As a society, we need to identify where existing laws and policies are inadequate in protecting the livelihoods, reputations and safety of whistleblowers, and work together to address these,” Ramaphosa wrote.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nonkululeko Njilo at BusinessLive
• Read too, Slain whistle-blower Babita Deokaran potentially unveiled a criminal syndicate at the Department of Health, at Daily Maverick

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page