SAMSA aims to boost governance
Whistle blower hotline tender issued
SOUTH AFRICA: One year since the finalisation of the report into various allegations of irregularities at the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), the authority has issued a tender requesting for bids from service providers to establish and maintain a whistle blower hotline.
The approved SAMSA Whistleblowing Policy the establishment of a platform where SAMSA staff, stakeholders and members of public can report allegations of fraud and corruption anonymously. According to the tender scope, the line should be available 24/7 for all days of the year and will be awarded for a three year period.
The tender also calls for the service provider to create additional means of reporting over and above the telephone hotline, SMS number and facsimile that are currently available.
The facility should allow for multi-lingual submissions that accommodates all 11 official languages and should ensure the protection and confidentiality of all whistle blowers.
The authority aims to use the data to determine and address issues and to change strategy in a bid to rectify problem areas. As such, the service provider will need to analyse allegations and provide monthly reports to the authority.
In 2021, forensic investigators, Morar Incorporated, was appointed to probe allegations of misconduct and whistle blowing reports received from external and internal stakeholders.
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