Rules, policies and reporting requirements are essential—but genuinely effective public institutions require more than procedural compliance. Ethics and accountability must become embedded in how organisations are governed, how decisions are made and how performance is understood.
About this webinar
This conversation asks a deceptively simple question: what does good governance look like once we move beyond compliance on paper? Dr Ernest K. Mutenda examines the South African public-sector context, where institutions may have extensive policies, audit requirements, ethics structures and reporting mechanisms, yet still struggle with maladministration, weak accountability and poor service outcomes. The discussion explores this “compliance paradox” and asks whether organisations are measuring genuine governance effectiveness—or simply getting better at completing processes.
The webinar then turns to what it actually takes to institutionalise ethics. Dr Mutenda discusses the importance of leadership buy-in, clear accountability, independent and properly resourced ethics functions, confidential reporting systems, consistent consequences and the role organisational culture plays in shaping behaviour. The conversation also tackles difficult practical issues including institutional gatekeeping, integrity in senior appointments, the independence of ethics officers and the way leadership incentives can either reinforce or undermine ethical conduct.
Finally, the discussion connects governance directly to public value and lived experience. Rather than treating clean audits, lifestyle audits or completed investigations as endpoints, Dr Mutenda argues for measuring what happens afterwards: whether losses are recovered, misconduct is resolved, consequences are applied and service delivery actually improves. The session closes by examining whistleblower protection, the full accountability chain and the need to turn new governance rules into funded, operational systems—moving from compliance as documentation to integrity in practice.
Assoc. Prof. Sezer Bozkus Kahyaoglu
Professor Kahyaoglu is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Accounting and Finance Department of Izmir Bakircay University as well as the Edior and Chief of the ACG Journal. Her professional and academic interests include financial markets and instruments, applied econometrics, energy markets, corporate governance, risk management, fraud accounting, sustainable finance, ethics, and auditing.
Dr Ernest K. Mutenda
Dr Ernest K. Mutenda is a public-sector governance, ethics and performance-management practitioner and researcher with more than 18 years of experience in South African local government.
He is a Certified Ethics Officer and holds a PhD in Operations Management from the University of Johannesburg. His work centres on ethics institutionalisation, integrity management, public accountability, corporate governance and sustainable public procurement.
Dr Mutenda’s research and professional work connect policy, governance and practice in pursuit of public institutions that are ethical, accountable and effective.
Insights from our Guest
- Cybersecurity and crypto threats – South Africa’s framework includes the Cybercrimes Act, POPIA and the National Cybersecurity Policy Framework. Crypto assets are regulated as financial products, service providers must comply with FSCA and FIC requirements, and the crypto “travel rule” improves transaction traceability. However, legislation must be supported by strong board oversight, cyber-risk assessments, incident-response plans and continuous employee awareness.
- Political and administrative accountability – Political executives and boards are responsible for policy direction and oversight, while accounting officers and officials are responsible for lawful administration and implementation. When these roles blur, each person should remain accountable for their own decisions, instructions and omissions. Political pressure cannot legalise an irregular administrative action.
- Effective enforcement – I largely agree. When misconduct is detected but consequences are delayed, inconsistent or absent, unethical behaviour becomes normalised. Enforcement must nevertheless be supported by ethical leadership, protected reporting channels, fair investigations and the recovery of losses.
- Institutionalising ethics – Ethics must have a formal mandate, independent structure, adequate resources and direct access to leadership and oversight bodies. Institutions should assess ethics risks, implement an ethics strategy, provide ongoing training and advice, protect whistleblowers, monitor conduct and enforce consequences. Ethics must become part of everyday decision-making, HR, procurement and performance management.
- Becoming a certified ethics practitioner – In South Africa, the recognised route is to complete The Ethics Institute’s Ethics Officer Certification Programme and successfully complete the required practical assessment. This leads to recognition as a Certified Ethics Officer.
- Oversight committees and captured leadership – Yes, this is a significant concern. A committee may comply formally with governance guidelines but remain ineffective when its recommendations are ignored or overruled. Recommendations should be formally tracked, and any decision not to implement them should be documented, justified and escalated where necessary.
- Raising concerns effectively – Concerns should be raised factually, in writing and through a channel independent of the person implicated—for example, the ethics office, internal audit, audit and risk committee, whistleblowing hotline or accounting authority. If internal channels are compromised, the matter may be escalated to the Public Service Commission, Public Protector, AGSA, relevant regulator or law-enforcement agencies. Disclosures should follow the Protected Disclosures Act to strengthen legal protection.