Abstract
This study focussed on adhering to the fourth King Code of Corporate Governance (hereinafter the King IV) in a bid to promote an ethical culture within the Local Government Sector Education Training Authority (LGSETA). The research approach for this study was qualitative desktop research, which undertaken due to the researcher not obtaining permission to conduct interviews with relevant role-players at the LGSETA. The study, furthermore, provided details into the conceptual frameworks pertaining to the King IV, placing an emphasis on ethics and ethical culture. The aim was to establish a link between public administration paradigms, ethics, and the King IV. An additional focus of this study was in discussing the LGSETA in terms of its vision, mission, and values, as well as the role-players responsible for the organisation’s operations. Also included were discussions related to the ethical challenges faced by the LGSETA, along with contextualised measures aimed at combating misconduct and promoting an ethical culture within the organisation. The primary findings of the study assisted in determining recommendations for the improvement of and towards an ethical culture at the LGSETA through the incorporation of the King IV. Other recommendations included developing an Ethics Programme within the LGSETA, which should be driven by the Accounting Authority, and which extends to the lowest employee level present within the organisation. This suggested Ethics Programme should incorporate an Ethics Risk Assessment, Strategy, Code, and Policy, and should be institutionalised. A continuous monitoring and evaluation process should also be undertaken in order to ensure the relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency of the organisation’s ethics performance, as findings related thereto could be used to inform how the LGSETA’s ethics performance might be reported to both internal and external stakeholders. Key words: Corporate governance, ethical culture, King IV, corporate governance framework, ethical leadership, ethics management framework, ethics programme.