​​Honesty and integrity are values he holds dear and are reflected in his work ethic. That is why, since his appointment in 2017, Dr Daniel Rampai has been an ideal fit for the position of Integrity Commissioner for the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). “Being in this office resonates with the values I live by,” Dr Rampai proudly states. The academic Dr obtained a doctorate in technology and innovation management from the Da Vinci Institute in Modderfontein in May 2022, and he is confident it will propel his office to new heights.

“The Integrity Commissioner or the office of the Integrity Commissioner is a novelty in the South African local government sector.

To make that novelty a reality, I decided to study the role of the office of the Integrity Commissioner,” Dr Rampai explains.

He made history by being one of the few in the world to conduct a study on the role of the Integrity Commissioner, and Johannesburg is the first South African municipality to appoint an Integrity Commissioner.

His historic thesis was titled “The Role of the Integrity Commissioner in the City of Johannesburg: A Systems Approach”.

However, it’s not about the title for him. Instead, it’s about the knowledge he brings to the City in terms of co-creating value and contributing to the development of a sustainable society in Johannesburg.

Dr Rampai’s momentous study sought to demonstrate how the council as a collective could fulfil its governance role by developing an implementable framework for governance of ethics and the ethics of governance. It also looked at how the legislative environment might affect how the council and the Integrity Commissioner perform their respective duties.

It explored the significance of interdependence and the combined effectiveness of council and the Integrity Commissioner in ensuring the municipality meets its constitutional objectives.

Dr Rampai also examined the role of the integrity commissioner and its impact on the conduct of councillors.

With this new body of knowledge, Dr Rampai believes the City will perform at its best. He now considers himself well positioned to add value and contribute to the development of a sustainable society in Johannesburg.

He says councillors must adhere to the virtuous standards that the Integrity Commissioner has been appointed to uphold in order to maintain an ethical ethos.

“As the Integrity Commissioner, it is my responsibility to assist councillors in making ethical decisions. Through the advice I will give them and the training I will provide. An efficient council would result in an efficient delivery of services to residents,” says Dr Rampai.

He would like the Integrity Commissioner to be regarded as an accountability officer rather than a police officer. He says councillors should view him as someone of integrity, who is independent, objective, and honest and faithful in the performance of his duties.

Dr Rampai hails from Welkom in the Free State and has always excelled in his career. He received his law degrees from Unisa and his Master of Philosophy degree in ethics from the University of Pretoria.

​He also has an MBA and was admitted to the South African High Court as an advocate more than 15 years ago. Before joining the City, he held a few executive positions in the corporate world.

He maintains a healthy work-life balance, and his family always comes first. He works out regularly to stay in shape and lives by a simple maxim: Let us be remembered as people who planted trees in whose shade we never sat.

“The quality of the decisions that are made in any organisation will be determined by the quality of the leaders in those organisations,” says the ethics scholar.