18 May 2023

ProEthics‘ mission is to promote professional ethics among our clients.

Our clients, big and small, come from all spheres of life and business, ranging from highly qualified professionals to unschooled labourers in both the private and public sectors. However, they ask for our help for vastly different reasons. Some clients have been ordered to do training by a court-appointed compliance monitor, following a conviction for corruption or bribery. Other clients, on the opposite end of the spectrum, have leaders with personal integrity who invest in building ethical teams. Somewhere in the middle are clients who do ethics training as a legal compliance requirement to pass due diligence scrutiny by third parties. As one new client remarked when requesting training, ”We have had several worrying unethical incidents … and our junior, middle, and senior management are somehow involved”.

Irrespective of the motives of our clients, we assist where and when we are given the opportunity. We do not have a mandate to investigate our clients (unless asked to do so) and neither do we judge them. Those assumptions of guilt are best left to a court of law or a legally mandated watchdog body. We do not condone corruption or fraud in any form. Should we find that a client is guilty of corruption our duty is to stay true to our mission. We will assist them to rebuild a culture of honesty to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Unfortunately, as consultants, we cannot force anyone to act with honesty. We are therefore saddened and disappointed when employees of any of our clients are accused of wrongdoing. We focus on what we do well – to inspire, equip, educate, and guide anyone willing to take our advice. The personal and business advantages of ethical behaviour are numerous. If only one person joins us in the fight against corruption, we have made a difference. This motivates ProEthics to keep on doing the work we do.

Dr Janette Minnaar
Director
www.proethics.co.za
info@proethics.co.za