An evaluation of the public service anti-corruption strategy in the Department of Arts and Culture

Abstract

The study aims to evaluate the implementation of fraud and anti-corruption strategies and policies with particular reference to the Department of Arts and Culture. The misuse of public funds by greedy individuals is alarming. Allegations of corruption are increasingly implicating to government officials and high ranking officials, which leads to a lack of good governance in the public sector and lack of trust by the ordinary citizens of this county in their leaders and the government systems that are in place. Government has capacitated itself with human resource capital to ensure that service delivery improves and that the country is steered into the right direction both socially and economically. Government has also put in place anti-corruption strategies for the public service that public servants must adhere to in order to ensure that corruption is curbed, but with all the systems and process in place the public service still finds itself having to deal with cases of corruption and misuse of funds. The DAC is a national department and subscribes to the anti-corruption strategies of government. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation of anti-corruption strategies in the Department of Art and Culture by analysing current fraud prevention strategies and policies. This research study analyses and assesses current methods used to combat corruption in the DAC and systems and methods to monitor corruption in the public service and with the possibility of benchmarking those new approaches for use by the DAC. The study emphasises the roles of employees and senior managers in the DAC and also looks into issues of professionalism and moral behaviour as one of the tools that can assist in curbing the problem of corruption. The research method used in this study to unsure that the objectives of the study are achieved is a qualitative research approach. A desk top method and referring to textbooks, articles and journals was the method that was utilised. The findings of the study proved that even though the DAC is commended for developing and putting in place anti-corruption strategies and policies there are still challenges in terms of implementation. As a result, the study made some recommendations after the numerous arguments with regards to the subject matter were presented. This is done in an effort to ensure that there is effective policy implementation and adherence to the rule of law.