Budget cut looms for protector

The office of the public protector, one of the entities mandated with what Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane calls the “mammoth task of rooting out corruption”, is facing another budget cut.

The budget cut will impact the quality and speed at which the entity resolves investigations.

For the 2020-21 financial year, R16.1 million was cut from the office’s budget – and, in the 2021-22 financial year, it was reduced by R28.7 million.

Originally, R360.613 million was budgeted for 2021-2022. But it will only get R331.884 million.

The year after that, it will receive R340.918 million, down R37 million from the earlier budget and the year after that, R345.190 million, down R19 million from the original budget.

“We expect more cuts in the future,” Mkhwebane warned the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services on Thursday.

The public protector’s office presented its strategic and operational focus areas for 2021-2022 to the committee.

Mkhwebane said there were two elephants in the room impacting on this – the Covid-19 pandemic and “the reality that our budget allocation continues on a downward trend since the previous year”.

“Both challenges threatened to derail our roll-out of the Public Protector Vision 2023 and we had to work around them in order to remain on course,” said Mkhwebane

She said the budget cuts had primarily impacted their funds for compensating employees. –

We expect more cuts in future. There are two elephants in the room.

Busisiwe Mkhwebane Public Protector