Public protector probes grass-roots issues
THE founding principles of the office of the public protector are found in Section 182 of the constitution, which 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 pose 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-related challenges range from shoddy workmanship, false billing and procurement-related matters. Some of them include: Poor services or failure to rectify defective services or failure to repair, especially with respect to housing and property.
Lack of service delivery – no sanitation, proper roads, water and electricity.
Incorrect billing of households.
Failure to attend to damages causes by state equipment and infrastructure failure related to drainage and flooding, including electrical surges.
During her recent roadshows, the public protector heard heart-rending stories from communities about how difficult it was for them to access municipal services.
These communities run across all the provinces, which the public protector visited during her roadshows, which were intended to broaden access by bringing services to the doorstep of communities where the most marginalised live and where most of the time their voices are not heard.
The public protector is the “people’s protector” as referred to in the judgment handed down 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 an 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.
“And that is the public protector. She is the embodiment of a biblical David, which the public is, who fights the most powerful and very well-resourced Goliath that is the impropriety and corruption by government officials.”
To date, many complaints and cases that have been investigated by the office of the public protector deal with improper conduct and conduct failure with issues pertaining to procurement that include allegations of maladministration, corruption, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as well as nepotism at local government level.
Those elected into public office seem to lack the necessary discipline and commitment which ensure they execute their tasks based on policies and the law, but instead advance their self-interests, which impact service delivery.
Ordinary people often lack knowledge with regard to the basic services they deserve, which would make those serving in public office accountable by providing them with the quality of service they deserve and upholding the constitution.
While it is the vision of the public protector to extend services to people at grass roots level, that must not be misconstrued as turning a blind eye to the current issues dominating the public discourse.
These involve high-profile cases in the public sector that seek to undermine the constitution and are instead creating a 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 and on the margins of society.
Placing emphasis on the use of vernacular languages when speak-
ing 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 the
remote areas of our country.
Entering into memoranda of understanding with key stakeholders to have access to communication platforms to take messages further and broadening access.
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 own efforts before turning to the public protector. Encouraging organs of state establish in-house complaint to
resolution mechanisms such as the health ombudsman, city of Johannesburg ombudsman and military ombudsman etc, in which the public protector was involved in setting up.
Ensuring 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