Public Protector receives the Legend of Empowerment Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oliver Empowerment Awards

Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela was recognised with the Legend of Empowerment Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Annual Oliver Empowerment and Transformation Awards organized by Topco Media on 26 April 2013 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

In her keynote address, Adv Madonsela said it is gratifying to be part of an event where excellence in acts of human solidarity and the pursuit of an inclusive society is celebrated. She said in her line of business most of the events she attends are mostly dialogue on conduct we wish to rectify in our society particularly in the area of governance within the Public Sector.

She said one of the Eight Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and the target is to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015 but according to the 2011 Census, there is growing inequality and poverty in South Africa.

She lauded the companies and business leaders who won the awards for taking an active role as co-architects of our democracy. They do so by not just focusing on themselves but also on the upliftment of other people and making a difference in the lives of fellow human beings in an effort to create a more equal society in line with what the awards stand for. She said the winners have committed themselves to transformation and empowerment that go beyond the scorecard.

Adv Madonsela was also a recipient of one of the ten Legend of Empowerment Lifetime Achievement Award. In her acceptance she said that she hopes the Lifetime Achievement Award does not suggest that she has exhausted her lifetime because if you are not growing anymore then you are dying. “I am quite humbled by the award which I believe is in recognition of the work of the Public Protector team. I would like to express my gratitude to my family especially my children, fellow lawyers, the community that supports the work of the Public Protector by bringing information and evidence to assist with investigations and to the media that gets all of us talking and keeps us on our toes,” she said.

The Oliver Awards are recognised as the most influential empowerment awards which aim to identify and acknowledge true empowerment leadership and innovation by celebrating companies and individuals that are excelling in job creation, entrepreneur ship and enterprise development.

Issued by:

Kgalalelo Masibi
Spokesperson for the Public Protector
Tel: (012) 366 7006
Cell: 079 507 0399
E-mail: kgalalelom@pprotect.org