Deputy Public Protector offers to help resolve issues surrounding botched circumcisions

Deputy Public Protector, Adv. Kevin Malunga, on Wednesday offered his office as a platform for constructive and impartial dialogue to deal with the problem of deaths in initiation schools.

Speaking at an event to commemorate Youth Month in Apel, Limpopo, Adv. Malunga said his office had been pained by recent reports of botched circumcisions in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

"In this era of advanced medical technology, there is no reason why anyone should die or be dehumanized as a result of a botched circumcision," he said.

"I would like to offer my office as a platform for constructive and impartial dialogue on how we can prevent the damage occasioned on the lives of youth by irresponsible leadership in initiation schools."

Surely, Adv. Malunga added, tradition, science and government can meet each other halfway in resolving the painful and unnecessary blight on the future of youth in the country.

He explained that most service failure complaints resolved by his office were handled through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as conciliation, mediation, negotiation or a combination of the three.

Adv. Malunga also told locals that his office used dates set aside to commemorate important events such as Youth Month to extend services to far-flung communities, in line with its constitutional mandate to be accessible to all persons and communities.

He decried the limitation of insufficient resources as experienced by his office, explaining that it made it difficult for the office to be geographically accessible to all persons.

But Adv. Malunga told locals that his office was in the process of opening a regional service point in Thohoyandou. This would bring to two the number of offices in Limpopo, a province that is home to over 5 million people.

While noting that this would still not be enough to meet the needs of provincial residents, Adv. Malunga said it would bring relief to the solitary office located in Polokwane.

In the meantime, he said, normal outreach activities would continue to be used to bring services to communities. He urged communities to exploit such opportunities to report service and conduct failure by organs of state.

For more information, contact:

Oupa Segalwe
Manager: Outreach, Education and Communication
Public Protector South Africa
012 366 7035
072 264 3273
oupas@pprotect.org
www.publicprotector.org
0800 11 20 40