Codes of conduct

The Code of Conduct for the Public Service is published under Chapter 2, Part 1 of the Public Service Regulations, 2016.

The Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members is contained in the Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000).

The Code of Conduct for Councillors is contained in Schedule 7 of the Municipal Structures Act (Amended 2021). It should be noted that it is not the work of ethics officers to regulate ethical behaviour among councillors. This is the work of the Speaker of Council. However, ethics officers (and all staff) should know the ethical standards that apply to councillors.

Both codes have an introductory section on General Conduct (which happens to be in section 2 of each code).

This section is probably the most important of the code, as it sets out the spirit in which councillors and officials need to do their work. Whatever you do in the municipality must align with these principles.

There are two principles that appear in both codes. These are:

Councillors and staff members must:

• perform the functions of office in good faith, honestly and in a transparent manner; and
• at all times act in the best interest of the municipality and in such a way that the credibility and integrity of the municipality are not compromised.

There are some concepts that we need to look at here.

A very important concept is that of good faith. Wikipedia states that good faith is “a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction”. In other words, I am acting with pure intentions and not selfish ones. I am not misrepresenting anything.

The second principle basically states in whose interest I must be acting when I do my job. It is very clear that councillors and staff members must, at all times, act in the best interests of the municipality. So, whenever there is a conflict between personal, political or factional interests and that of the municipality, they have to act in the best interest of the municipality.

They must also act in such a way that the credibility and integrity of the municipality is not compromised. So, their actions must not reflect negatively on the municipality. They must act in a way that will cause the community to trust the municipality more, not less. 

All of these principles under general conduct are enforceable, as they fall within the Code of Conduct. In other words, people who do not act in good faith, or who act in a way that brings the municipality into disrepute, can face disciplinary consequences.

The following extract from the Municipal Systems Act applies to the Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members and places a positive duty on the municipal manager to communicate the code:

The Code for Ethical Leadership in Local Government, while touching on aspects of personal behaviour, primarily focuses on the responsibilities of leaders in fostering ethical and effective municipalities. It functions more as a governance code. Its purpose is to guide leadership in establishing well-governed, high-performing institutions.