Meet the Anton Fellows: Before and after apartheid—ethics in South African government
Gwladys Ngo Tedga's project
In 1994, anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela became president
of the Republic of South Africa, a country then notorious for legalized oppression of its
majority black African population. During Mandela's administration, a new constitution was
put in place in 1997, establishing a framework for democratic governance based on the rule
of law. At the end of his five-year presidential term in 1999, Mandela was succeeded in
national elections by current president Thabo Mbeki.
Gwladys Ngo Tedga '06 is using an
Anton Fellowship
to compare the ethical basis of government in South Africa before and after Mandela's presidency.
Gwladys was born and grew up in the central African nation of Cameroon, and the corruption
she perceived there inspired her to double major in philosophy and government in order to study
ethics in government. She is particularly interested in Nelson Mandela's efforts to establish a
government based on ethical principles in South Africa.
Gwladys is spending the summer of 2005 conducting research in Pretoria, South Africa at
the Ethics Institute of South Africa,
an independent, non-partisan, not for profit organization. ESA's mission, according to
its web site "is to promote and advance ethical practices in South Africa-in the professions,
business, and public policy, and among individuals." There she will be researching the South
African Department of Public Service and Administration's Code of Ethics in conjunction with
Mandela's statements on ethics in government, the South African constitution, and reports on
corruption in the South African government under both Mandela and Mbeki. She will also be
conducting interviews with government officials and citizens regarding about the place of
ethics in their government. Finally, she will also be investigating the prevention and eradication
of unethical practices in the public sector.
Gwladys has agreed to share with us, via email, news of her experiences and reflections
on her work this summer. Check the listings in the blue box (under the map) to see what
she's doing!
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Additional Resources
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South Africa and Cameroon
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