Ignoring Public Protector decisions
a recipe for impunity
Thursday, 26 May 2011
The Public Protector, Adv Thuli Madonsela, says the trend of
ignoring the remedial action she takes upon investigating
the conduct of some organs of state is a recipe for
impunity.
Addressing law students, legal academics and parents during
a prize giving ceremony for top performers at the Wits
School of Law in Johannesburg on Wednesday night, the Public
Protector said with impunity there would be no real
accountability or incentive to change.
“Even in cases of conduct failure as in cases involving
corruption, unethical conduct and abuse of power or state
resources; ignoring remedial action cannot be right,” she
told guests.
Responding to a request to deliver a speech on “The
Importance of Excellent Law Graduates for the Public
Protector’s Office”, she said there was a need for ground
breaking scholarship into the institution of the ombudsman
as it seemed to her that the full potential of this
important vehicle for cost-free access to justice was not
being fully explored.
The Public Protector added that her office had noticed that
some organs of state took issue with the office’s processes
and decisions out of ignorance of her mandate and related
powers.
“Some lawyers advising the state tend to be part of the
problem rather than the solution due to failure to conduct
thorough research on the institution and advising
accordingly,” she said.
The Public Protector further opined that it was not only her
office that needed lawyers who would “think out of the box”
as legal minds that advise the state also needed to adopt
that kind of approach to their work.
“This is because when all is said and done, it is the
complainant that suffers and our democracy is also
weakened,” the Public Protector said, adding that this could
result in civic protests such as service delivery marches.
She explained that her office was established to serve as an
alternative to courts and tribunals, providing a quicker and
cost-free service to complainants, most of whom have no
financial muscle to take the state to court in order to
protect their rights.
The Public Protector added that the constitutional mandate
of her office serves to augment traditional checks and
balances that seek to curb excesses in the exercise of state
power.
Issued by:
Kgalalelo Masibi
Senior Manager: Outreach, Education and Communications
Tel: (012) 366 7069
Cell: 079 507 0399
Email:
kgalalelom@pprotect.org
www.publicprotector.org
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