EO 462 – Gerhardus van der Merwe
Lt Col Gerrie van der Merwe
SA Air Force
Why did you attend the programme?
Ethics is one of the values of the Department of Defence. Only a small number of EO’s are currently registered in the DoD. The Minister of Defence instructed the DoD to establish an Ethics Department, therefore senior members was nominated for the course.
How did it benefit you personally?
Considerable insight in ethical behavior, practices and beliefs of both local and international organizations and companies was highly beneficial in the enhancement of my personal passion towards the subject.
Apart from gaining knowledge, it also provided me with the opportunity to be recognized as a certified EO in South Africa.
How is it benefiting your company?
The ethics risk analysis conducted during the practicum benefitted our Air Force Base, as ethics risks are now also registered in our risk list. The risk list is a comprehensive working document used on a weekly basis by top management to find methods to reduce them.
Since my completion of the ethics officer certification programme, I have conducted several training sessions to the whole Base. These sessions enhances the ethics awareness on the Base and forms part of the weekly Base Command Council meetings.
