Address by Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela on the
occasion of the official opening of the Mthatha Regional
Office in the Eastern Cape on Friday, October 01, 2010.
01 October 2010
Programme Director;
Speaker of the National Assembly, Honourable Nomaindia
Mfeketho;
Speaker of the OR Tambo District Municipality, Cllr Madalane;
Mayor of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality; Cllr
Mlamli;
Speaker of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality, Cllr
Dondashe;
Deputy Public Protector, Adv Mamiki Shai;
CEO of Public Protector South Africa, Mr Themba Mthethwa;
Representatives of fellow Chapter 9 and other constitutional
institutions;
Public Protector staff;
Ladies and gentlemen
I am honourned to be the bearer of good news to the
community of Mthatha and neighbouring areas this morning.
This occasion marks a milestone for us at Public Protector
South Africa. It affirms that we have succeeded in bringing
the services of the Public Protector closer to your
doorsteps by opening our twentieth office countrywide, here
in Mthatha.
All along you have been coming into contact with my office
through our occasional outreach clinics, telephone calls and
letters. From today, you will simply walk into these
premises during working hours and on week days to lodge your
complaint about government services or conduct and look
forward to prompt remedial action!
Section 182 (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa demands that the Public Protector be accessible to
all persons and communities. The establishment of this
office is therefore one of several measures that seek to
make the services of the Public Protector accessible to you.
Ladies and gentlemen;
I am aware that most of you know about Public Protector
South Africa and its services. However, I would like to
share with you a brief background on this institution for
the benefit of the few, who may need information about this
office and its services.
The Public Protector is an independent officer and
institution established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution to
support and strengthen constitutional democracy by holding
government accountable for services and conduct. This is
done by investigating any conduct in state affairs or in the
public administration in any sphere of government that is
alleged or suspected to be improper or result in any
impropriety or prejudice, reporting on that conduct and
taking appropriate remedial action. In simple terms my role
is the right administrative wrongs of the state.
Several key pieces of legislation enable and give the Public
Protector specific powers and responsibilities regarding
correcting service failure, maladministration and abuse of
state power and resources. These are the Public Protector
Act of 1994 (PPA), the Executive Members Ethics Act of 1998,
the Protection and Promotion of Access to Information Act of
2000 (PAIA), the Protected Disclosures Act of 2000 (PDA) and
the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of
2004 (PCCA).
Anyone can complain to the Public Protector about government
services or conduct and the Public Protector will see to it
that you problem gets resolved. In addition, the Public
Protector’s services come free of charge. I would also like
to assure you that in dealing with complaints, as the Public
Protector I am independent and impartial and exercise my
powers and functions without fear, favour or prejudice. This
is spelt out in the Constitution.
Programme Director;
All along, the people of this province have been relying on
the provincial office in Bhisho for services. Other areas in
the province including Mthatha were accessed through my
office’s outreach programme.
During the past financial year, 306 of the 828 complaints
received in this province were from this area. Most of these
complaints, which were lodged during our outreach clinic,
related to social grants, identity documents, pensions and
general service delivery at municipal level.
One such complaint is that of Ms Kanyiswa Mcimeli, who
visited the outreach clinic held at Mxhosa Community Hall in
Libode, Ward 16 on 21 September last year.
Ms Mcimeli complained that the South African Social Security
Agency (SASSA) could not help her when she went to its
offices in Libode to apply for a child support grant. She
alleged that, on applying, officials at SASSA informed her
that her name was already in the system, registered to be
the recipient of two of grants for two children she did not
know. SASSA then registered the child under the name already
in the system and when Ms Mcimeli visited the pay point on
pay day, her finger prints did not match those on the system
and no grant was paid to her.
On investigation, the real name of the other person
receiving the grant was discovered. She was getting the
money at Xhosa Supermarket here in Mthatha not at the bank
or pay point. The suspect alleged that she had been sold ID
books by one official of the Department of Home Affairs for
R300. She had also managed to secure clinic cards for R30
and was assisted by a SASSA official to apply for the grants
at a fee. This goes to show the extent of the rot that is
slowly but surely engulfing state organs.
Ms Mcimeli has since received all the monies due to her,
dating back to the day she first applied and the other
illegal application was cancelled. I am informed that a
criminal case was opened at Libode Police Station and one of
the officials at Home Affairs was suspended. We do hope that
justice will prevail.
This is one example of how the Public Protector helps
ordinary citizens, who are powerless and have no resources
to take on the mighty state, in a court of law.
Programme Director;
The Public Protector no longer relies only on investigating
and issuing reports with recommendations. The Public
Protector Act actually gives me the power to take remedial
action. One of the ways of taking this remedial action to
rectify the failures of the state is to use appropriate
dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediating, negotiating
and conciliating. I am very proud to say a lot of complaints
have been resolved this way.
We have committed ourselves to a vision that states that we
seek: “to be a trusted, effective and accessible Public
Protector that rights administrative wrongs and consistently
acts with integrity to ensure fair, accountable and
responsive decision-making, service and good governance in
all state affairs and public administration in all spheres
of government”.
Flowing from this vision, are three specific promises, we
have made to the public:
-
To be accessible to and trusted by all persons and
communities;
- To deliver prompt remedial action
- To promote good governance.
As I draw towards my conclusion, I would like to inform this
gathering that this year we are celebrating Public Protector
South Africa’s 15th anniversary. To mark this, we will be
hosting an inaugural Public Protector Good Governance Week,
which will henceforth be an annual affair. The week will be
observed between 11 and 15 October 2010.
During this Week, we will be highlighting the role and
mandate of the Public Protector with a view to reach more
people and promote good governance in all state affairs. One
of the activities that will characterize this Week is a high
level conference on good governance which is co-arranged by
us and the Commonwealth in Pretoria. Over the next few days
you will hear more about this Week in the media.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to call on
the collective gathered here to spread the word about this
office and make full use of it. In fact, you can start today
right after the last item of the programme by visiting the
stall at the back of this tent where investigators are ready
to take your complaints. There you will also find material
with all contact information for your convenience.
Thank you.
Adv TN Madonsela
Public Protector South Africa
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