Public Protector hears from Ritchie residents, wraps up roadshow

Communities around Ritchie, a small town south of Kimberley in the Northern Cape, will this week get an opportunity to bring their service delivery grievances to the attention of Public Protector Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who will be visiting the area as part of her four-month stakeholder engagement roadshow. The meeting will mark the culmination of Adv. Mkhwebane’s nationwide tour of provinces. Since its launch in February, the roadshow has seen the Public Protector lending an ear to communities and other stakeholders in the eight of the country’s provinces, where she also revealed the vision that will underpin the work of her office over the next 7 years. Accompanied by experienced teams of investigators from the respective provinces, Adv. Mkhwebane interacted with provincial executives, lawmakers, mayors, civil servants and general members of the public. Areas visited included Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Mahikeng, Thohoyandou, Polokwane, Ermelo, Thaba Nchu, Mqanduli, Masiphumelele, Madibogo, Bhisho and Ngilanyoni.

During the tour, she learned of and undertook to resolve daily struggles of communities, including poor provision of water, sanitation, electricity, healthcare services, lack of road infrastructure, employment opportunities for youth, non-enforcement of municipal by-laws and allegations of corruption and nepotism.

She asked communities in areas she could not visit to use other avenues to bring their service delivery and conduct failure grievances to her attention through alternative avenues. These included post, email, telephone or her office’s outreach clinics. However, those affected should have tried in vain to resolve the matters themselves.

Speaking ahead of the Northern Cape leg of the roadshow, Adv. Mkhwebane said besides the focus being on introducing herself to stakeholder and outlining her vision, the forums went a long way to ensure that the services of her office were brought closer to the doorsteps of the marginalised.

She said her office had, prior to the roadshow, taken note of concerns raised through various mediums, including radio and social media and she was thankful to those who used her visits to directly engage her on any issue of concern.

She was encouraged by the meaningful dialogue she has had with stakeholders in other provinces. The Public Protector encouraged communities in the Northern Cape to also make use of the opportunity to bring to her attention any issues of concern.

The engagements are held under the theme “Broadening Access: Taking the Public Protector to the Grassroots”.

Address at the Provincial Legislature is scheduled as follows:

Meeting with Ritchie community:

Members of the media are invited to cover both events. RSVP for both events via email to salvationm@pprotect.org or on 062 218 9348

For more information, contact:

Oupa Segalwe
Senior Manager: Communications
Public Protector South Africa
Cell: 072 264 3273
Tel: 012 366 7035
Email: oupas@pprotect.org

@PublicProtector
Public Protector South Africa