Public service in South Africa is characterised by widespread allegations of unethical conduct, and this has generated widespread concern among politicians and public officials and consequently a search for remedies. In order to promote positive ethical conduct in the South African public service, it is important to facilitate a process of behavioural change. Ideally this would create a situation where values, articulated particularly in the public service environment, were synonymous with the values espoused in that environment (Muthien, 1994). It is therefore important that ethical conduct be promoted in public institutions. The point of argument that will be presented in this paper is as follows: If the South African public service has a code of conduct, why is the ethical behaviour of officials and politicians not improving? What is the statutory and regulatory framework that guides officials and politicians on ethical conduct? T