Public Protector Adv Thuli Madonsela on Thursday made an impassionate plea to government to be more decisive in order to respond effectively and efficiently to the needs of communities.
Speaking during a Stakeholder Consultative Dialogue meeting in Bhisho, Eastern Cape, the Public Protector said a lot of the 20 000 complainants that approached her office last year had just been waiting for government to make decisions that would unlock their lives.
“Please make decisions and provide reasons for those decisions,” she said, adding that her office should be focusing more on complex investigations instead of matters that should be solved at government level.
The Public Protector was rounding up her visit to the province, where she has spent the last two days as part of her nationwide Stakeholder Consultative Dialogue, which kicked-off in Pretoria last week.
The dialogue focuses on the need to work together to end maladministration and ensure responsive service delivery, with special focus on problems plaguing Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing and regulatory gaps regarding alleged illegal conversion of panel vans into taxis.
Problems surrounding RDP housing and regulatory gaps in the conversion of panel vans into taxis are the subject of two systemic investigations currently being conducted by the Public Protector. The Dialogue makes use of public hearings to gather information for purposes of these investigations.
During the meeting, delegates raised complaints about taxes, hitchhiking practices that are used as excuses for illegal taxis, other problematic taxi brands such as Inyathi, stringent problems around the provision for operation licenses and traffic spot fines.
Regarding RDP housing problems, community and civil society organisations reported incomplete houses, leaking roofs, long waiting periods for houses, unoccupied houses and poorly built houses, among others.
Other complaints included chieftaincy disputes, disputes regarding elections in the wards, identity documents issues, water cuts, deteriorating roads infrastructure, railway houses, rates and electricity disputes, and social grants matters.
“From here we are going to analyse these complaints and identify relevant organs of state to whose attention we should bring these matters by next week.
“Then we will continue with our systemic investigations after which we will report on our findings and what should happen. There will be solutions for individuals and systemic solutions that should cover the whole community,” the Public Protector said.
The meeting was attended by several stakeholders including Departments of Human Settlements and Transport, the Deputy Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders Prince Zolile Ncamashe, the Speaker of the Provincial Legislature Fikile Xasa, civil society formations and representatives of the Construction Industry Development Board.
For more information contact:
Kgalalelo Masibi, Spokesperson
Cell: 079 507 0399
Tel: 012 366 7006
Public Protector implores government to be decisive
