High-profile cases of bribery and corruption could have been avoided if institutions had properly applied quality management systems in place.
This is according to South African quality management expert Xolani Mpahlwa.
The negative societal implications of bribery and corruption should never be underestimated, he said.
Mpahlwa, who hails from New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, recently represented SA at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) World Congress in Portugal.
He presented a new work item on organisation change management (OCM) and promoted the use of the ISO 37001 – an anti-bribery management standard.
The ISO 37001, Mpahlwa said, specifies a series of measures to help organisations prevent, detect and address bribery.
These include adopting an anti-bribery policy, appointing a person to oversee antibribery compliance, training, risk assessments and due diligence on projects and business associates, implementing financial and commercial controls, and instituting reporting and investigation procedures.
“High-level cases of corruption have led to the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into tax administration and governance at the South African Revenue Service, the Zondo Commission on State Capture, as well as the Eskom Inquiry,” he said.
“These cases could have been avoided if institutions’ controls had been overseen by quality, ethical and visionary leadership, and had accurately applied management systems,” he said.
“Fidentia, for instance, wasted [millions] intended to assist widows and orphans.
“It’s a terrible example of just how systematic and debilitating corruption can be.
“Similarly, when organisations such as Nkonki close their doors, the resultant job losses negatively impact families’ quality of life and exacerbate societal ills such as unemployment and crime,” Mpahlwa added.
Fidentia controlled the Living Hands Umbrella Trust responsible for making monthly payments to beneficiaries of the mineworkers’ pension fund.
The financial scandal that unravelled almost a decade ago was masterminded by Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for fraud.
Auditing firm Nkonki took a decision to voluntarily liquidate its Sunninghill operation in April after an announcement by the auditor-general’s office that it would no longer be making use of the firm.
Mpahlwa, who is now the CEO at Blackstone Consulting, started his career as a training engineer at the Algoa Bus Company in Port Elizabeth.
He has been involved in the quality management profession in both private and public sectors for more than 20 years.
He said he was unable to disclose key issues addressed at the conference until presentations were made at government level next year.
“I will be part of the seminar in February next year with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation where we will show that standardisation is an enabler for entities.
“An organisation by its nature has to have governance.
“Governance is a structured approach of things to do in an entity so that it is safeguarded from litigation but also for operational effectiveness,” he said.
“Without standardisation entities fall into the trap of deviation which often leads to civil suits and even loss of life, that is why there is a great belief that companies lack an understanding of the value of standardisation.”