ABSTRACT
“Ethics”, “integrity”, “transparency” and “good governance” have become words in currency over the past few decades. Political campaigns have been fought on them. In most countries, statutory agencies have been formed to pursue them. Most countries have dedicated anti-corruption agencies. South Africa has the Office of the Public Protector. Several governments seek to improve the ranking of their countries on international benchmarks such as the Corruption Perception Index (published annually by Transparency International). Some non-governmental organisations pursue aspects of the subjects. National strategies and campaigns have been launched in many countries. For example, Bolivia marked its first National Day Against Corruption on 8 February 2011. Malaysia has a national integrity programme. Many companies, in all sectors in that country, have integrity or compliance officers. In the construction industry, ethics, professionalism and “best practice” are also words one hears frequently these days.
