Speeches

Keynote Address by the Honourable Andries Nel, MP, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development at the Whistleblowers Summit hosted by Public Interest SA at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on Monday, 27 October 2025 under the theme: “Upholding democracy through courage: the strategic role of whistleblowers in rebuilding public trust”

Programme Director, Chairperson of Public Interest SA, Mr Tebogo Khaas, the Public Protector of South Africa, esteemed representatives of civil society, the legal profession, academia, and the media, distinguished guests—

At this important gathering, I invite all of us to rise—in body or in spirit—as we recite together the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

“We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to—
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.”

This Preamble is not simply an introduction to a legal text.
It is our national conscience — a moral compass that calls us to remember who we are and what we must become.
It reminds us that democracy is not a gift we received once in 1994; it is a daily responsibility, sustained only by the courage of citizens and the integrity of institutions.
When we meet here today to speak of whistleblowers, we are speaking about people who live the Preamble, in action, daily — those who choose truth over silence, conscience over comfort, and the public good over personal safety.

The protection of whistleblowers is not a peripheral issue. It lies at the very heart of our constitutional project.
When our democracy was born, the framers of our laws understood that transparency alone was not enough.

The Open Democracy Bill of the late 1990s aimed to guarantee access to information, but during consultations, it became clear that whistleblowers — those who disclosed wrongdoing in good faith — required stronger, dedicated protection.
From this recognition emerged the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) of 2000 — a landmark statute ensuring that employees who expose corruption, maladministration, or abuse of power are shielded from occupational retaliation.
This legislation reflected a constitutional truth: that the right to speak the truth in the public interest is not only a legal entitlement — it is a democratic duty.
Whistleblowing is not a modern phenomenon.

Our history offers sobering reminders that corruption — and the courage to expose it — are woven deeply into the fabric of a society still dealing with the legacy of centuries of colonialism and decades of Apartheid.
In the early 1700s, Adam Tas dared to challenge the corrupt practices of Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel at the Cape. Tas and 62 fellow burghers petitioned the Dutch East India Company to expose the Governor’s misuse of public office for personal gain. For this, Tas was imprisoned in the Donker Gat — the “Dark Hole” — a dungeon at the Castle of Good Hope.

He was one of South Africa’s first whistleblowers.
Three centuries later, that same courage still meets the same resistance.
We remember Jimmy Mohlala, Speaker of the Nelspruit Municipality, assassinated in 2009 after exposing tender irregularities in the Mbombela Stadium project.
We remember Moss Phakoe, a trade unionist and councillor, murdered for revealing corruption in local government.
We remember Babita Deokaran, senior official in the Gauteng Department of Health, gunned down in 2021 after blowing the whistle on fraudulent PPE contracts.

We remember Mpho Mafole, Head of Corporate and Forensic Audits at the City of Ekurhuleni and formerly with the Auditor-General, who was gunned down in Kempton Park in July, after taking on high-profile corruption investigations.
We remember Cloete Murray, a liquidator involved in high-profile corruption cases including Bosasa, who was shot and killed in 2023, along with his son, Thomas.

We remember Sindiso Magaqa, a former Secretary General of the ANC Youth League, known for his outspoken stance against corruption, who was tragically assassinated in 2017 while serving as a councillor in the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality and raising concerns about a multi-million-rand tender for a memorial hall at Umzimkhulu.
We remember Armand Swart who was shot 23 times in April 2024 because he was mistakenly believed to have been a whistleblower who exposed inflated tender prices.

We remember Brouwer van Niekerk, an attorney working on a major insolvency case linked to a Ponzi scheme, who was shot in his office earlier this year.
There are, no doubt, many others.
Their names are written into the moral ledger of our democracy — a democracy they helped to protect by sacrificing their safety, and in some cases, their lives.
Our generation faces a moment of democratic reckoning.
Across the world, the foundations of liberal democracy are being shaken by polarisation, disinformation, and declining public trust.

The AXA–Ipsos Future Risks Report (2025) shows that 95% of experts and 93% of citizens believe crises have multiplied in recent years, while only 16% of the global population express full confidence in public authorities’ capacity to manage future crises.

The report warns of a world “fragmented by social and political polarisation,” where the feeling of vulnerability is at its peak.
The Ipsos Global Trends Report (2025) echoes this: citizens are turning inward, retreating from institutions and seeking control in smaller, more personal spaces. Ipsos calls this the era of “Nouveau Nihilism” — a mood of disappointment with governments, matched by a yearning for authenticity and meaning.

Closer to home, Afrobarometer’s October 2025 survey sends us a warning we cannot ignore:
• Fewer than half of South Africans (49%) say democracy is preferable to other forms of government.
• Half (49%) now say they would support military rule.
• Seven in ten (70%) are dissatisfied with how democracy is functioning.

These are not just statistics — they are signals, serious signals, that we ignore at our peril and that of our constitutional democracy.

They tell us that public trust has eroded, that the distance between the governed and those who govern has widened, and that democracy itself cannot be taken for granted.
The Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index (2024) found that only 15% of people globally trust politicians, while ordinary citizens are more than twice as trusted.

The message is clear: our people are not rejecting democracy — they are calling for its renewal. They are not frustrated with the concept of democracy – they are calling for those who are to uphold democracy to do better.

We want to say without equivocation:
Government understands the depth of this crisis of trust. We accept responsibility. And we are acting.
We know that corruption has weakened the moral authority of the state and eroded public faith in the institutions meant to serve them.

We know that when whistleblowers are silenced or unprotected, citizens conclude that truth itself is unsafe.
That is why the fight against corruption and the protection of whistleblowers is a central pillar of the renewal of the state.
The Zondo Commission of Inquiry was a painful but necessary mirror. It revealed not only how deeply corruption had infiltrated our institutions, but how vital whistleblowers were in uncovering the truth.

The Commission taught us that without whistleblowers, much of what we know about State Capture would never have come to light and that unless whistleblowers are protected, future wrongdoing will again remain hidden in the shadows.
Our response must therefore be structural, not symbolic.

The Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) remains the backbone of our whistleblower protection system, complemented by the Witness Protection Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
But legislation must evolve.

That is why the Department of Justice, in collaboration with the South African Law Reform Commission, is reviewing the PDA and related laws to create a Comprehensive Whistleblower Protection Framework.
This reform process aims to:
• Broaden the definition of “whistleblower” to include contractors, consultants, and members of the public.
• Establish clear procedures for confidential disclosures.
• Strengthen remedies for occupational detriment.
• Clarify the obligations of employers to act on disclosures.
• Align with international standards such as the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance.

A Bill has been finalised and we are hoping to publish it for public comment before the end of this year.

Legislation alone will not protect whistleblowers if institutions do not cooperate.
We are therefore consolidating the work of the Anti-Corruption Task Team — comprising the NPA, SIU, Hawks, SARS and the FIC — to ensure seamless referral and joint investigation of whistleblower reports.
Our Chapter 9 institutions help fight corruption by promoting transparency, accountability and good governance. Their work too must be supported and strengthened.

The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) has issued a very comprehensive report which outlines, amongst others, key recommendations to strengthen whistleblower protection in South Africa, including enhanced safety measures, public awareness initiatives and support for whistleblowers.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee are busy exposing deep-rooted corruption in our criminal justice system.

We are also exploring the establishment of a Central Whistleblower Protection Office, a safe and independent entry point for disclosures that ensures swift action and feedback to those who come forward.
Protection must go beyond physical safety.
We have heard from whistleblowers who have lost their livelihoods, homes, and peace of mind.

That is why we are engaging with partners to design a Whistleblower Support Framework providing:
• Psychosocial counselling,
• Legal assistance,
• Temporary financial relief, and
• Employment reintegration pathways.

These are not acts of charity; they are investments in the moral infrastructure of our nation.
Rebuilding public trust cannot be achieved by government alone.
As the AXA–Ipsos Future Risks Report emphasises, societies today face “interconnected crises” that require “collective leadership and co-built solutions.”

We must therefore act as a whole-of-government, with the whole of society.
Civil society organisations — many represented here today — are indispensable partners in accountability.
We are working with Public Interest SA, Corruption Watch, OUTA, and others to ensure that civil watchdogs remain free, well-informed, and well-resourced.

An independent and ethical media is equally vital. Journalists are often the final link between the whistleblower’s truth and the public’s awareness.

Corruption thrives in both the public and private sectors. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2020–2030) therefore calls for joint accountability through corporate governance, transparent procurement, and ethical business leadership.
Labour unions, too, have a powerful role to play in protecting members who disclose wrongdoing in the workplace.
Ultimately, integrity must take root in society itself.
Community leaders, traditional authorities, and faith-based organisations can help build cultures where silence is no longer a refuge for wrongdoing.

As government, we must model the very transparency we demand. Every department must measure success not only in service delivery, but in trust restored.
The Ipsos “What Worries the World” (September 2025) survey tells us that the top concerns globally remain crime and violence (32%), inequality (29%), corruption (28%), unemployment (28%), and inflation (30%).

For South Africa, the figures are as follows:
• Unemployment: 65%
• Crime/violence: 58%
• Corruption: 48%
• Poverty/inequality: 30%
• Inflation: 21%
• Immigration control: 16%
• Health: 14%
• Taxes: 11%
• Education: 10%
• Climate change: 5%

These are the symptoms of a world — and a country — yearning for justice.

Citizens want to believe again that public institutions are just, that hard work is rewarded, and that truth-telling is valued.
When we protect whistleblowers, we send a message that the state stands with the courageous, not the corrupt.

We begin to rebuild what the Ipsos Global Trends Report calls the “Power of Trust” — the connective tissue of democracy.
This has fundamental implications for the realisation of the three key national priorities outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address:
Firstly, inclusive growth and job creation,
Secondly, poverty reduction and tackling the high cost of living, and Thirdly, building a capable, ethical, and developmental state. Because, as Francis Fukuyama argues in Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity: “By contrast, people who do not trust one another will end up cooperating only under a system of formal rules and regulations, which have to be negotiated, agreed to, litigated, and enforced, sometimes by coercive means. This legal apparatus, serving as a substitute for trust, entails what economists call “transaction costs.” Widespread distrust in a society, in other words, imposes a kind of tax on all forms of economic activity, a tax that high-trust societies do not have to pay.” This is a tax that we do not need as a nation that is in desperate need of economic growth and job creation.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, led by Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, has adopted a pragmatic action plan aligned to the Medium-Term Development Plan (2024–2029) and the National Development Plan (Vision 2030):
1. Legislative finalisation of the reformed Protected Disclosures Bill by 2026.
2. Operationalisation of an integrated whistleblower reporting system across all organs of state.
3. Launch of a national awareness campaign on whistleblower rights and protections.
4. Establishment of a multidisciplinary support fund for whistleblowers.
5. Annual public reporting on disclosures received, investigated, and resolved.

We do so because we must move from policy intent to practical implementation.
Democracy survives not only by the strength of its institutions but by the courage of its citizens.
Every time a whistleblower speaks, they breathe life into the Constitution we recited this morning.
They remind us that accountability is not an act of defiance — it is an act of faith.
As government, we pledge to stand by those who stand for the truth.
We will strengthen the law, protect the vulnerable, and ensure that no South African ever again pays with their life for doing the right thing.
Let this Summit mark not only a conversation, but a commitment — to rebuild trust, to renew integrity, and to prove that our democracy, though tested, remains resilient.

As the Preamble commands us: “To improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person.”
Together — as the whole of government with the whole of society — let us protect the protectors, defend the defenders, and rebuild the moral foundation of our Republic.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.