Public Protector concludes Good Governance Week

Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela on Saturday concluded the National Good Governance Week with a visit to Diepsloot Shopping Centre in Johannesburg, where she interacted with weekend shoppers on issues of ethical leadership and governance.

Hundreds of people stopped at the Public Protector stall to make enquiries on the work of the institution and to collect information material and to lodge service delivery complaints. More had an interface with the Public Protector during her walkabout around the mall.

In the end, several service delivery complaints were lodged. These included one that the community had been without water since Thursday. It was not clear why the taps had run dry.

Some members of the community complained that they were yet to get positive feedback on the applications they had made in the 1990s for RDP houses. Others complained that the local healthcare clinic only operated eight hours a day. “If you fall ill in the middle of the night, you have to be taken to Atteridgeville in Pretoria or Alexandra, which lies more than 25 kilometers away,” one resident told the Public Protector. The facility is also said to be constantly running out of medicine. In addition, there was a complaint about the construction of a police station in the area. Residents complained that there has been no activity on the construction site of the facility for the past year and a half. They also complained about roads and that their house got flooded during rainy seasons.

The Public Protector undertook to look into the matters raised; giving priority to urgent items such as the water cuts. She urged communities to trust her office with their service delivery grievances and refrain from violent protests. “You need to know what good governance and ethical governance are so as well as how these tie up with a responsive service delivery that will ensure that you lead a better life as promised in the constitution,” she told consumers.

The visit brought to an end a week that commenced with a two-day high level conference in Pretoria, focusing on the link between ethical governance and a responsive service delivery.

This was followed by an interaction with learners at Laudium Secondary School before the Public Protector went to Olifansthoek in Northern Cape to mediate in an impasse that has seen leaners not going to school for five months. She also embarked on unannounced visits in Olifantshoek and held a meeting with the Community of Bapo ba Mogale in North West.

The week sought to foster a collective consciousness and a common understanding of good governance. It also aimed to strengthen synergies among oversight bodies and civil society entities that play a central role in promoting and enforcing good governance.

This year’s campaign focused on ensuring a responsive service delivery through ethical leadership. Civil society was also being mobilised to play a part in promoting ethical governance, which is at the core of good governance and responsive service delivery.

For more info:
Oupa Segalwe Manager: Communication Public Protector SA
Tel: (012) 366 7035
Cell: 072 264 3273
Email:oupas@pprotect.org
www.publicprotector.org