The government is so serious about fighting corruption‚ on Sunday it launched a discussion document on how to fight it.

It’s tagline of the launch is “corruption is everyone’s business“.

Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe‚ alongside Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini‚ Justice Minister Michael Masutha and Home Affairs minister Hlengiwe Mkhize in Pretoria launched the document for public comment.

Radebe started off acknowledging the government was aware of the “pervasive scepticism” about its efforts to fight corruption and thus negativity about its document. “In our view there is no basis for this negativity“.

Radebe was at pains to mention corruption was a global problem and not uniquely South African. “Corruption is a global phenomenon and its manifestation is not unique to our country.”

Radebe clearly saw no irony in sitting next to Dlamini at the televised launch. Minister Dlamini made headlines for ignoring 2015 court orders and breaking promises to the Constitutional Court by not ensuring there was a party to pay social grants from April.

The Constitutional Court in March found that she acted in a way that would ensure that CPS was the only company available and capable to pay out social grants.

Court judges suggested her actions were so inexplicable they were either caused by “absolute incompetence” or corruption.

Radede was also flanked by the justice minister whose department has been called out by the auditor general for frequent qualified audits.

Yet Radebe said the government was doing “all it could “to wipe out corruption. He said that the government had a “more than modest success” in fighting corruption. He explained the ways the government had already fought corruption.

These included 66 convictions of people involved in corruption costing R5-million or more since 2014. He said the state had plans to secure convictions for 120 people in a  case linked to corruption worth R5-million and above by 2019. The courts have frozen almost R5-billion in assets believed to be proceeds of crime‚ he said to defend the government’s track record in fighting corruption. President Jacob Zuma had signed 31 proclamations between 2014 and 2017 to allow the Special Investigating Unit to investigate major instances of maladministration or state corruption.

The document has been drawn up by a task team that represented and met with different government departments and undertook research and benchmarking of other anti-corruption efforts.

It is now open for comment until August. The draft strategy encourages increased support for whistle-blowers‚ improved ethical leadership ‚ more professors and experts in ethical leadership and greater transparency in the running of NGOs and private businesses.

Asked why the country needed a corruption document in addition to laws criminalising tender fraud and corruption‚ Minister Radebe said: “There has to be a programme of action above the laws so there is buy in [ by the public] and each one [of us[ is responsible for fighting corruption.”

“It [corruption] is not just my problem as the head of the NPA. it is your problem too‚” said National Prosecuting Authority boss Shaun Abrahams to the public.

Apart from Abrahams‚ the launch was attended by members of the Hawks‚ Special Investigating Unit‚ and an audience of NGOs that often use the courts to fight government corruption including the Helen Suzman Foundation‚ Outa and the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution.