Public protector is the people’s watchdog to broaden services
THE founding principles of the office of the public protector are found in Section 182 of the constitution. This requires the institution to be “independent and subject to the constitution and the rule of law, and must be impartial, exercise their powers and perform their functions without fear, favour or prejudice”.
Today, most communities are faced with various challenges emanating from poor service delivery, which poses a threat to our constitutional democracy.
The public protector deals with a number of investigations in relation to the delivery of services such as infrastructure, roads, public facilities and housing.
These service delivery-related challenges range from shoddy workmanship, false billing and procurement-related matters. Some of them are:
Poor services or failure to rectify defective services or repairs, especially in respect of housing and property.
Lack of service delivery – no sanitation, proper roads, water and electricity.
Incorrect billing households.
Failure to attend to damages caused by state equipment and infrastructure failure related to drainage, flooding and electrical surges.
During the recent roadshows, the public protector heard directly from communities their heart-rending stories that make it difficult for them to access basic services.
These communities run across all the provinces, which the public protector visited during her roadshows of broadening access to services by bringing services to of the doorstep of communities where the most marginalised live at grass-roots and their voices are seldom heard.
The public protector is the people’s protector, as it was referred to in the judgment that was issued by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng in March last year, wherein he said: “The tentacles of poverty run far, and deep in our nation.
“Litigation is prohibitively expensive and therefore not an easily exercisable constitutional option for the average citizen.
“For this reason, the fathers and mothers of our constitution conceived of a way to give even to the poor and marginalised a voice and teeth that would bite corruption and abuse, excruciatingly.
“And that is the public protector.
“She is the embodiment of a biblical David, that the public is, who fights the most powerful and very well-resourced Goliath that impropriety and corruption by government officials are,” Justice Mogoeng said.
To date, many complaints and cases which have been investigated by the office of the public protector deal with improper conduct, failure with issues pertaining to procurement including allegations of maladministration, corruption, fruitless and wasteful expenditure as well as nepotism at local government level.
Those elected to public office seem to lack the necessary discipline and commitment which ensures that they execute their tasks based on policies and the law, but instead advance their selfinterests, which affect service delivery.
Ordinary people often lack knowledge with regard to basic services that they deserve, which will make those serving in public office accountable by providing them with the quality of services they deserve and uphold the constitution
While it is the vision of the public protector to extend services to the grass-roots level, that must not be misconstrued as turning a blind eye to the current issues that are dominating the public discourse, which involve high profile cases in the public sector that seek to undermine the constitution and are instead creating trust deficit among elected officials and ordinary people.
The public protector’s vision 2023 has eight pillars:
Broadening access by bringing the services of her office to the doorstep of communities located at grass-roots in the margins of society.
Placing emphasis on the use of vernacular languages when speaking to the public in order for communication to be effective.
Making use of traditional council offices, municipal premises and magistrate's courts to make up for the office’s inadequate footprint in order to reach more people, particularly those who live in remote areas of our country.
Entering into memoranda of understanding with key stakeholders in order to have access to communication platforms to take messages further.
Projecting the image of and becoming a stronghold for the poor and marginalised in society.
Empowering the public to enforce their rights to try to resolve complaints through their own efforts before turning to the public protector.
Encouraging state departments to establish inhouse complaint resolution mechanisms such as the health ombudsman, city of Johannesburg ombudsman and military ombudsman etc, which the public protector was involved in setting up.
Ensure that by 2023, when the public protector leaves office she leaves a legacy of an empowered public who will be public protectors in their own right.
The public protector is committed to ensuring that it delivers on its mandate as required by the constitution.
Mosana is the spokesperson for the public protector