The Public Protector, Adv Madonsela does not wish to engage in a public debate with her deputy on the issue of parliamentary oversight.
Adv Madonsela has already indicated that this issue will be deliberated on with the staff member concerned and other staff at the next Think Tank meeting. Think Tank is a committee comprising, the Public Protector, Deputy Public Protector, executive and senior managers as well as investigators. The discussions will be guided by the Public Protector’s Constitutional mandate, institutional vision and vision and commitment to operate as a purpose driven team.
Further, the content of parliamentary oversight has been referred to a roundtable discussion in Parliament and in preparation for that the Public Protector team will be once more given an opportunity to deliberate on the matter.
The Public Protector has already expressed her view that her decisions are subject to the Constitution and law only and any staff member who has a different view is welcome to use available internal structures to air their views. The Public Protector does not see any value to discuss this issue in the public platform when there have been no internal discussions.
The issues of interpreting the powers of the Public Protector are regulated by the Constitution and the Public Protector Act. The issues in question are also regulated by the constitution and the law. In terms of the Act there is only one Public Protector and section three provides for staff.
