Strengthening the ethics and integrity of South Africa’s public service

Through the Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in South Africa Project (SEIP) (Cowater International Inc., over $5.9 million, 2018-2025), Canada helped build the capacity of South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to deliver gender-responsive services to the public. This support allowed the department to provide ethics and integrity training and technical assistance to more than 300 people within 22 government departments at the national and provincial levels.  

The project also supported the design and operationalization of a new specialized unit: the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Management Unit (PAEIMU). Cowater International is currently piloting initiatives with the DPSA and the PAEIMU to address issues such as sextortion and sexual harassment in the public service.

For instance, during South Africa’s national Women’s Month, SEIP organized a training session on sexual harassment in the workplace, with government officials from the Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces participating.

The training has already strengthened South Africa’s capacity to address and manage sexual harassment in the workplace, and aims to create a working environment that is free of sexual harassment, favours, intimidation and victimization.