“When people are silent, and where people are silenced, the consequences are very dangerous.” – Rabbi Gideon Pogrund, Founding director of the Centre for Business Ethics at the University of Pretoria

On 29 June 2023, a discussion document proposing reforms for the whisteblower protection regime in South Africa was published. The purpose of the document is to:

1. expand the scope of the Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000 (“PDA“) to encompass a wider range of relationships;
2. ensure that adequate resources and support are given to whistleblowers; and
3. afford the Human Rights Commission with the authority to address protected disclosures.\

The discussion document was produced following a detailed analysis of the approach to whistleblowing in a number of jurisdictions, a summary of which is set out below.

FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS

The laws which regulate whistleblowers in the United States of America are extensive and provide key protections and incentives including confidentiality assurances, financial reward and independent reporting channels. This approach ensures that whistleblowers believe they are empowered and safe.

In the United Kingdom, the Public Interest Disclosure Act does not include a reward or incentive provision due to, amongst others, the legal costs associated with the system and the view that incentives will not achieve an open reporting culture and may result in trivial issues being reported.

The Public Servant’s Disclosure Protection Act only extends to public...

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