Abstract:
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 makes provision for three
spheres of government: national, provincial and local government. Local government
is the third sphere of government, closest to the people and is responsible for
service delivery in that sphere. The challenge is the manifestation of corruption
across local government. According to Williams (2000:ix), corruption is a deviant
and transitory activity. History is replete with cases of bribery, embezzlement,
fraud, abuse of power, maladministration, nepotism, conflict of interest and the
like. Corruption displays many negative consequences: weakened service delivery,
misdirection of public resources, inhibiting growth, alleviating poverty and loss of
trust by society (in Webb 2005:153). Therefore, anti-corruption reform is high on the
political agenda in South Africa. In view thereof, this article introduces a paradigm
shift in addressing corruption in local government. The researchers support the
views expressed by Alperstein (2007:62-64) that institutions of higher learning
should play prominent roles in instilling values, becoming more socially responsive
to community development and producing new knowledge and graduates who
are critical yet responsive citizens by reviewing its curriculum development. It stands to reason that higher education is often celebrated as the powerhouse and
engine’ for development, and central to this mandate is the design and function
of curricula in Higher Education Institutions (Prinsloo 2010:19). Hence, the key
focus of the discussion is an overview of curricula of Local Government modules
at both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at selected institutions of
higher learning in South Africa. The aim is raising awareness on ethical issues
and evolution of a culture of zero tolerance towards unethical behaviour in
municipal practices. The article supports a need for debate and discussion on
diverse methodologies and approaches as a starting point to the ethical enquiry.
Ethics education is becoming more complex and entails new learning approaches
in addressing its complexity. There is a paradigm shift in the debate and discussion
about teaching and incorporating a focus of ethics in the curriculum from a mere
incorporation into the curriculum, to what are the best methods and pedagogies
for teaching ethics.
