ABSTRACT
In some African countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria attempts have been made to reduce the levels of fraud and corruption by promoting whistleblowing by employees. In South Africa, legislation was introduced in 2000 to protect whistleblowers in the public and the private sector. Some researchers on whistleblowing such as William de Maria have raised serious concerns about the possible negative consequences of the importation of western-based whistleblower protection legislation into developing countries. It is therefore important to take into account the social context in which whistleblower protection legislation is created and implemented. This chapter deals with whistleblowing in the South African context. It focuses in particular on how cultural perceptions in South Africa impact on the effective implementation of the legislation to protect whistleblowers. In South Africa, the adherence to the value of ubuntu does not seem to favour whistleblowers.
