Johannesburg – Delegates at a good governance conference in Pretoria will seek harsher punishments for organs of state that commit wrongdoing, the public protector’s office said on Wednesday.

The conference, which ended on Tuesday, was attended by MPs, national, provincial and local government officials, and representatives of civil society, the public sector and Chapter Nine, 10 and 11 institutions.

They decided on Tuesday to approach the National Treasury to consider reducing the budgets of organs of state involved in misconduct, such as wasting public funds, said the protector’s spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi.

“They also committed themselves to localised anti-poverty initiatives and to be more active in rural areas to address poverty in the most vulnerable pockets of society, noting the different needs of communities,” she said.

Masibi said the delegates decided to consider a code of ethics for all South Africans and pledged support for a national ethics conference to be held next year.
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