The department of public service and administration (DPSA) said in a statement on Thursday that it has written to relevant departments, instructing them to take action against officials who have failed to  disclose their financial interests or are doing business with the state.

The minister for public service and administration, Senzo Mchunu, has raised serious concerns about the number of government employees who have failed to disclose their financial interests and those doing business with the state, the DPSA said.

The Public Service Regulations, 2016, require senior management service (SMS) members to disclose their financial interests annually by 30 April, the DPSA said in the statement.

"As a Department, we have written letters to relevant departments to take action against identified employees and to report investigation and disciplinary outcomes," the statement said.

It said that the regulations stipulate that the head of department and the executive authority must submit financial interests disclosed to the Public Service Commission (PSC) by 31 May.

"The PSC can then determine if there is potential or actual conflict of interest regarding the disclosed financial interests," the department said.

"The number of government employees found to be doing business with the state and those who failed to disclose their financial interests is concerning. This situation must be dealt with as the Sixth Administration has committed itself to fighting corruption and maladministration.

"Corruption in the Public Service is inconsistent with the values and principles governing the public administration, stipulated in Section 195(2) of the Constitution and must be tackled head on," it said. 

Stating that SMS members doing business was a criminal offence, the department aid it was following up the cases with the departments concerned to deal "within the framework of the law" with those people identified.

"We will ensure that criminal charges are laid with the police to ensure that we put an end to the culture of pillaging our state resources with impunity," DPSA said.

It added that the country had to "make a shift towards observing ethics and combat corruption, both in the public and private sectors".

"Corruption remains a major contributor to economic decline and therefore it is even more important for South Africa to act swiftly against this scourge."