The SARB encourages members of the public to provide their details when reporting wrongdoing in order for the SARB to obtain follow-up information when necessary. In such cases, the SARB will take all reasonable precautionary measures to protect an individual’s identity.

There is, however, an anonymous reporting option, and the SARB’s independent external hotline service (Deloitte Tip-offs Anonymous) guarantees employees and members of the public their anonymity.

What can be reported?

There are two main types of wrongdoing, namely commercial crime and unethical behaviour.

Commercial crime

This relates to any unlawful act or failure to act that would result in offences such as the following (this list is not conclusive):

•  bribery, corruption, forgery, fraud, theft and receipt of stolen property;
•  payment or receipt of bribes;
•  abuse of confidential SARB information;
•  breach of fiduciary duties (involving positions of trust);
•  contravention of statutory prescriptions;
•  unlawful destruction, removal or concealment of SARB records, property and equipment; and
•  profiteering as a result of insider trading.

Unethical behaviour

This includes, but is not limited to:

• not obeying the SARB’s policies or procedures; and
• highly sensitive and serious issues, such as unfair discrimination, sexual harassment, racism, nepotism and emotional blackmail.

Making use of the Tip-offs Anonymous ethics hotline

Checklist before you call

• Date, time and place of incident?
• Name(s) of person(s) involved?
• Are there witnesses?
• What proof is there?
• Is there any money involved?
• Does this happen often?

How does the Tip-offs Anonymous ethics hotline work?

Anyone can contact the Tip-offs Anonymous contact centre on:

FreeCall: 0800 384425
FreePost: KZN 138, Umhlanga Rocks, 4320

Trained operators are available 24/7 to answer calls in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and Sesotho. They will interview callers, asking questions to get specific facts so that they can record as much information as possible and understand things as clearly as possible.

The information will then be sanitised so that when the tip-off report is fed back to the SARB there is no trace of who made the call. The report will be forwarded to senior SARB officials who will decide on the corrective action to be taken. Deloitte will ensure that a report does not go to any official who is implicated in the report.

Tip-offs Anonymous will never reveal the identity of the caller and the caller does not have to give his/her name, unless he/she chooses to.

What is the tracking or reference number used for at the contact centre?

The tracking number is your reference number that relates to the incident that you have reported. If you want to add more information to a report at a later stage, you can call back, quote the reference number and just give the agent the extra information. This reference number is yours alone to ensure that your identity is protected.

Will the person who makes a tip-off get a reward?

No. Tip-offs Anonymous discourages a reward scheme because it invites the wrong attitude. Reporting wrongdoing is a demonstration of good citizenship.

Why does the call centre operator ask me questions?

The call centre operator will ask you questions in order to get information that is necessary for an investigation. Callers usually have valuable information of which they are not aware and the call centre operator will ask these probing questions to guide you through the reporting process.

How can I be sure that my identity will be protected?

When you call the Tip-offs Anonymous call centre, you do not have to give your name or any personal details. There is no caller identification so no one knows where the call was made. Even though the calls are recorded, the SARB will never have access to the recordings so no one will be able to identify your voice. There is also a duty evaluator on site at the call centre who sanitises every call, which means that he/she strips out any information that could lead to identifying the caller. The SARB will only get a factual report of the alleged wrongdoing with no additional information.

How will I know that anything will be done about the information I report?

The SARB is committed to ensuring that Tip-offs Anonymous is successful. Part of the success lies in ensuring that all tip-off reports are followed up. Be assured that reports will be investigated. The person who made the tip-off will not be told how the investigation is progressing because these investigations are sensitive, must be kept confidential and take some time to complete. Should an investigation lead to a prosecution, arrest and dismissal of the person or people involved in the wrongdoing, then the caller may be informed or he/she will notice that the person(s) is no longer in the workplace.

What happens if someone does not like someone else and uses this hotline to spread harmful stories (malicious call)?

Yes, this is a possibility and the SARB and Tip-offs Anonymous are aware that this can happen. All the operators in the call centre are trained to identify a malicious call and so are the evaluators. They filter these calls and flag them as malicious when they are forwarded to the SARB. When these reports are read by the SARB’s management, they can see that the call could be malicious. Remember that a tip-off is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, and proper evidence and proof have to be obtained before any action can be taken.