Candidates for deputy public protector named
TWO legal eagles who have made it on the candidacy list for the deputy public protector position are advocate Indhera Goberdhan and attorney Leanne Govindsamy.
Their names, along with 26 others, have been forwarded to the justice committee.
The outgoing deputy public protector, advocate Kevin Malunga’s term of office ends in December.
Goberdhan is a private practising advocate, and Govindsamy is the head of programme, corporate accountability and transparency at the Centre for Environmental Rights.
Goberdhan was nominated by the Progressive Professionals Forum, Moses Mabhida region, saying she had a proven track record of working with underprivileged communities.
“Advocate Goberdhan does not charge our youth or our widows any fees when she spends long hours consulting and assisting them. Her contribution towards our community is a self-sacrifice,” said the regional forum’s secretary, Nontuthuko Malinga.
Goberdhan has a Master’s degree in law and is in the process of obtaining her doctorate.
She previously worked as an assistant master of the Pietermaritzburg High Court and a legal practitioner at the KZN Legislature.
Goberdhan is also a board member of the uMgungundlovu Economic Development Agency Board and a legal adviser for an NPO.
She said she was humbled by the nomination and understood that the job of the deputy public protector required hard work.
The process is currently open for public comment before names are shortlisted.
Goberdhan said the public would be honest and unbiased and would provide valuable input in who was the best fit for the job.
For her, the job was about the people and making a positive difference.
“It’s about speaking and helping people at a grassroots level,” said Goberdhan.
Govindsamy, meanwhile, holds an LLB from the University of Witwatersrand and an LLM in International Human Rights Law summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, in the US.
She served as a law clerk in the Constitutional Court to Justice Tholakele Madala and worked briefly at legal NGOs in India.
In 2017, she was interviewed for a post on the SABC board but was unsuccessful.
She was, at the time, an attorney for the NGO Corruption Watch.
The other candidates vying for the post include Robert McBride, the former head of the police watchdog Ipid; advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa, national Heritage Council chief executive; advocate Buang Jones the SA Human Rights Commission’s acting head of legal services; and advocate Loyiso Mpumlwana, a former ANC MP.
Members of the public and organisations have been given a deadline of 4pm on October 16 to comment on the suitability of candidates.
The shortlisted candidates will be subjected to a screening process.
The committee wants to conclude the process of appointing the deputy public protector before Malunga’s term ends.
Comments can be emailed to Dppvacancy@parliament.gov.za