We should all get involved in this

EVERY time we hear South African politicians speak, they are telling us that we have strong state institutions, especially the judiciary and the chapter 9 institutions like the public protector, auditor general and the Human Rights Commission. Judging by the present public protector and recent judgments made by the judiciary, one would be inclined to believe it.

Thuli Madonsela made us all stand up and take notice that we have a public protector and that the office has real teeth. Before that we never really took any notice of it.. She has proved to be principled and resolute, even under the most intense pressure. In October her seven year non-renewable term comes to an end. The National Assembly started this week with the process to find her successor. A road map to be followed has been announced. An ad-hoc committee of 10 has been formed, made up of six ANC MPs and four from other parties.

They announced that a three month period had been opened for nominations to be submitted by the public, after which public interviews will be held for the short listed candidates. The interviews are scheduled for August and the nominated candidate will have to be approved by a 60% majority in the National Assembly. So the kind of public protector we end up with is going to be crucial for the continued survival of our democracy. Can we trust the politicians to give us a “fit and proper” person to occupy this seat? Judging by what has happened in the appointments of the Hawks boss, the head of the NPA and others in recent times, can we be complacent and allow another important arm of state to be occupied by a not-so-stellar individual? Can our democracy survive it? On May 18 the SACP said, “The conduct of the Hawks under Ntlemeza’s stewardship is increasingly leaving much to be desired, and indeed reflects politically motivated, factional and private agendas.” Is the SACP being paranoid and are they saying these things because they see that they are no longer the flavour of the month in the Zuma camp? Whatever their motives may be, what is clear is that there is a huge danger to our democracy if we allow politicians, driven by factional and selfish interests, to have unfettered access to organs of state and to unduly influence these.

Come August we must exercise our right to get involved in the process to appoint the next public protector. It is in everyone’s interest to appoint the right person for the job and not a lackey as we never know what might happen in the next seven years. You may be on top now, but the way politics is you can not know what might happen in the future.