Going in to a crucial week in SA’s political landscape against the backdrop of State capture, and after a year of serious ethical lapses in business (Steinhoff, McKinsey, and KMPG SA are examples), it’s tempting to focus on the negative.

But I was encouraged to read in two pieces of research published recently about the core values of South Africans. Both talk about “ordinary people” sticking to their values or intending to act / vote according to their values.

For many of us, a personal decision to stand for good, and do good, is our contribution to a just and ethical society.

I choose to believe that ordinary people standing their ground (against corruption, for good values), and insisting on clear reporting and governance among business leaders, can make a difference. I choose this as one of the “ordinary people”.

The first research published was The Ethics Institute’s third annual bribery report. Among other findings, it showed that 47% of people surveyed refused to pay a bribe because of moral or religious reasons – because the request to pay is against their personal values.

And what behaviour or characteristics reflect South Africans’ morals?

They believe people (especially leaders) should be trustworthy, honest, listen to the people and be competent (Van Zyl, 2017).

This emerges from the second piece of research, published by market research company Ask Africa, which partnered with the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Communication and Reputation Management. Ask Africa asked 3,000 people about what they thought of corruption and State capture.

“Active citizenship against corrupt individuals came out strongly in the results, where 62% of citizens expect jail sentences and criminal charges against corrupt individuals, followed by 41% planning to vote corrupt politicians out of power” (Van Zyl, 2017).

Back to The Ethics Institute’s SA Citizen’s Bribery Report. The author, Kris Doble, commented that “focusing on personal morality may be one effective way of addressing corruption”.

“There seems to be . . . faith in the commitment of parents, teachers, and religious leaders, who are embedded in communities and play a more important role in the moral development of individuals. These committed people should be actively brought into the fray. While the current political environment has its challenges, it highlights the impact of corruption . . . This creates an opportunity for people to reflect on whether they want to be part of building, or breaking an ethically responsible society.”

It’s not entirely linked, and it’s not SA but world history, but the actions of ordinary citizens of England during the evacuation of Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk during May 1940 keep springing to mind.

We watched the movie Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan earlier this year. It depicts that, in small boats of all shapes and sizes, and fueled by a determination to help, ordinary men and women crossed the English Channel and returned 330,000 British, French, Belgian and Dutch soldiers to safety in a rag-tag flotilla of privately-owned vessels.

Ordinary people withstood an invading force, showed courage and did the right thing. That made them extraordinary.

References

The Ethics Institute. 2017. South African Citizens’ Bribery Survey 2017. https://www.tei.org.za

Van Zyl, G. 2017. Almost 70% of Saffers fed up with state capture, united in fighting graft – study. https://www.biznews.com/good-hope-project/2017/12/05/sa-citizens-fed-up-state-capture/