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PUBLIC PROTECTOR’S PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: STRATEGIC PLAN AND BUDGET 4 July 2014 Presented by Public Protector Adv. Thuli Madonsela. Overview of Presentation. Introductory Remarks Constitutional Mandate

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  1. PUBLIC PROTECTOR’S PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: STRATEGIC PLAN AND BUDGET 4 July 2014Presented byPublic Protector Adv. Thuli Madonsela

  2. Overview of Presentation • Introductory Remarks • Constitutional Mandate • Additional Key Statutory Mandate Areas • Higher Purpose and Strategic Objectives • Synergies with Government Priorities • A national partnership against maladministration and corruption • Complaints trends • Past year at a glance (unaudited) • Optimisation of limited resources • Key Targets for 2014/15 • Budget Allocation 2014/15 • Emerging trends and risks • Closing Remarks

  3. Opening quote “ The Constitution upon which the nation is founded is a grave solemn promise to all its citizens. It includes a promise of representative and accountable government functioning within the framework of pockets of independence that are provided by various independent institutions. One of those independent institutions is the office of the Public Protector. The office of the Public Protector is an important institution. It provides what will often be a last defence against bureaucratic oppression, and against corruption and malfeasance in public office that is capable of insidiously destroying the nation. If that institution falters, or finds itself undermined, the nation loses an indispensable constitutional guarantee.” NUGENT JA

  4. 1. Introductory Remarks • Congratulations to Chairperson and Committee Members for the trust placed on you by the people and your peers • Public Protector Strategic Plan and Vision2020 remains the roadmap for our complementary oversight work as the Public Protector SA in Partnership with Parliament, other organs of state and the people in strengthening constitutional democracy through preventing and combatting maladministration in all its forms from indifference to corruption

  5. 1. Introductory Remarks (cont.) • In unwavering pursuit of Constitutional mandate, energised by the National Development Plan, which places emphasis on good governance as a precondition for the attainment of its vision and goals, the slightly adjusted Strategy of the Public Protector SA seeks to: • Balance universal accessibility (in compliance with section 182(4) of the Constitution), with effective service delivery and use of limited resources and being effective in ensuring justice for administrative wrongs while acting as a catalyst in the transformation of public administration and governance

  6. 2. Constitutional Mandate The Public Protector is an independent Constitutional institution whose mandate, derived from Section 182 of the Constitution read with Section 181, is to support and strengthen constitutional democracyby investigating and redressing maladministration or improper conduct in state affairs. Section 182 of the Constitution states that: “(1) The Public Protector has the power as regulated by national legislation • to investigate any conduct in state affairs, or in the public administration in any sphere of government, that is alleged or suspected to be improper or to result in any impropriety or prejudice; • to report on that conduct; and • to take appropriate remedial action. (2) The Public Protector has the additional powers and functions prescribed by national legislation. (3) The Public Protector may not investigate court decisions. (4) The Public Protector must be accessible to all persons and communities. (5) Any report issued by the Public Protector must be open to the public unless exceptional circumstances, to be determined in terms of national legislation, require that a report be kept confidential.”

  7. 2. Constitutional Mandate (contd.) In essence: “The purpose of the office of the Public Protector is to ensure that there is an effective public service which maintains a high standard of professional ethics. The Public Protector is an office modelled on the institution of the ombudsman , whose function is to ensure that government officials carry out their tasks effectively , fairly and without corruption or prejudice. . .. Members of the public aggrieved by the conduct of government officials should be able to lodge their complaints with the Public Protector , who will investigate them and take appropriate remedial action. “ In re Certification of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 • This is in line with the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) pronouncement in opening slide

  8. 3. Additional Key Statutory Mandate Areas • Maladministration Mandate (Public Protector Act 23 of 1994) • Anti-corruption Mandate (Shared Enforcement of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2000) • Sole Agency Supporting Enforcement of the Executive Members’ Ethics Code (Executive Members’ Ethics Act 82 of 1998) • Safe Harbourfor whistle-blowers (Shared under Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000) • Review of decisions by the NHRBC (Housing Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998) • Resolving Access to Information Disputes until Information Regulator takes over

  9. 4. Higher Purpose and Strategic Objectives Higher Purpose Statement: “A conscience of the state to act with integrity and fairness.” External/outward Inward looking

  10. 5. Synergies with Government Priorities • In addition to alignment with on going Government Priorities, the Public Protector Strategic Plan has been slightly adjusted to ensure that the oversight work complements the implementation of: • The National Development Plan, Vision 2030 (Chapter 14): • Emphasis on zero tolerance to corruption and need for anti-corruption system - relevant anti-corruption agencies include the Public Protector • “Competent, skilled institutions like the Public Protector and Special Investigating Unit need to be adequately funded and staffed and free from external interference.” • Protection of whistle-blowers • Public education and awareness campaigns linking the effect of corruption on service delivery and reporting mechanisms. • The State of the Nation Address 2014: • Addressing weaknesses in procurement • Prevention of business with the state by public servants • Protection of whistle blowers and fight against corruption • Contributing to a better Africa and a more just world • Attending to Municipal Hotspots

  11. 6. A National Partnership Against Maladministration and Corruption • Strategy predicated on honouring constitutional injunction to be accessible to all persons and communities (s182(4)) while leveraging constitutional architecture of complementary oversight involving; • Internal and statutory oversight bodies in government (e.g. IPID, PCS, JIP, MO, TO, Municipal Ombuds, SIU Proclamations and Commissions of Inq.) • Oversight by fellow constitutional bodies • Parliamentary oversight (NB Petitions Committees) • Courts and Tribunals • Balancing promptness with rigour remains core, while prioritising Gogo Dlamini cases through Makhadzi Way • Promoting trust in the system and using democracy avenues

  12. 7. Complaints TRENDS Recurring themes include: • Indifference; • Systemic service failure; • Non-compliance; • Corruption; • Overbilling; • Overcharging; • False billing; • Scope creep in state contracts or tenders; and • Unnecessary services e.g. legal services (R15m in one internal case) Types/examples: • Intake and Referrals • Majority: “bread and butter” issues (high volumes) • Infrastructure: Water, electricity, roads, classrooms &hospitals/clinics • Systemic governance failure often leading to community protests

  13. 8. Past year at a glance (unaudited) 333 Total Staff complement (incl.>100 interns) 35 029 Cases Handled by 31 March 2014 R199 253 000 Total Budget Allocation 20 086 New cases 13 622 Cases carried forward 2012/13 24 759 Cases Finalised by 31 March 2014 9 594 Cases carried over to 2014/15

  14. 9. Optimisation of Limited Resources • Investment per capita for a nation of 52 million people is: R24 per person per year • Workload per investigator per year: 237 cases (142 investigators) • Workload per investigator per month: 12 (new) in addition to existing and ongoing investigations (88 per investigator per month) • If all cases were to be disposed of per year an investigator is required to dispose of at least one case per day • At any given time nearly 13 000 cases are active at our offices (as per sampling undertaken in November 2013) Ideal situation: • Complex Investigations: 6-9 investigations per investigator per annum • Early Resolution matters: 15 – 25 cases per month • Current situation – 20 cases for finalisation per investigator per month

  15. 9. Optimisation of Limited Resources a) Human Resources: Challenges: • The Organisational structure was approved by the Minister of Finance and DPSA but was never fully funded ( 41% of the posts in the structure are not funded) • Additional mandates were not accompanied with increased resources (e.g. EMEAs) • Retention of trainee investigators and training(approx. R22 million) • Call Centre stalled due to lack of funding for call centre staff (R8 million) Our Solutions: • Prioritisation of critical posts • Utilisation of interns as trainee investigators • Systemic investigations • Increased referrals and encouraging institutional Ombuds • Partnerships with organs of state • Training support through donor funding e.g. GIZ

  16. OPTIMISATION OF LIMITED RESOURCES (cont.) b) Facilities and infrastructure: Challenges: • In violation of section 182(4) uneven accessibility of services, particularly in rural areas and special groups such as those with disabilities, language needs and children • Inefficiencies, duplications etc. through absence of integrated electronic case management system (cost near R10 million) • Lack of office space (R10.5 million) Our solutions: • Closing and freezing of regional foot print and enhancing ad hoc services such mobile clinics • Progress in developing a new CMS, with support from SITA • Only limited procurement of office equipment

  17. Optimisation of Limited Resources (cont.) c) Financial resources: Challenge: • Lack of adequate funding has impact on core business – impairs speed and quality of investigations • Additional expenses due to unforeseen and unavoidable costs of litigation (aprox. R10 million) Our Initiative • Cutting down on some of the activities, e.g. levering stakeholder relations instead of advertising and strengthening investigation skills and techniques • Donor Roundtable is planned to explore support for non-investigation activities or expenses

  18. 10. KEY TARGETS FOR 2014/15 Strategic Objective 1: Accessible to and trusted by all persons and communities • Reach 10 million people • Mobile Offices: 8 clinics per outreach office in each province per month • 5 National Stakeholder events targeting areas that have not been reached before • Institutionalisation of the customer service charter • Implementation of Stakeholder and Customer Survey outcomes • Implementation of Rules

  19. KEY TARGETS …continued Strategic Objective 2: Prompt Justice including Remedial action • Turnaround times for investigation of early resolution cases remain: • 50% of the complaints resolved within 3 months; • 30% of the complaints resolved within 4 months • 20% of complaints resolved within 6 months. • 50% of all other complaints (GGI and Service Delivery) will be resolved in 6 months and the other 50% between 7 and 12 months • Conduct an audit of all backlog cases and finalise backlogs by September 2014 (currently at 9000) • Continue Alternative Dispute Resolution • Sign response protocols with organs of state and hold workshops with organs of state

  20. KEY TARGETS (cont.) Strategic Objective 3: Promotion of good governance in the conduct of all state affairs • Finalise systemic investigations in RDP Housing, Health, Workers Compensation, Administration of Estates, Social Grants and Municipalities • Expeditiously conclude Executive Members’ Ethics Act investigations (201) • Enhanced Monitoring of implementation of remedial action • Engage with Cabinet on a common vision and complementary approach on maladministration, ethics and corruption • International co-operation including, undertake tasks as Executive Secretary of the African Ombudsman and Mediators’ Association and Chairperson of the African Ombudsman Research Centre

  21. KEY TARGETS (Cont.) Strategic Objective 4: Effective Business Systems and economic use of financial resources • Establishment of a Compliance Office to assist in monitoring implementation of remedial action and other tasks • Obtain a clean audit, eliminating adverse audit findings • Implementation of the IFMS • Business process re-engineering • Review and implementation of a case management system

  22. KEY TARGETS (Cont.) Strategic Objective 5: Optimal performance and service focused culture • Review of recruitment and retention policies and strategies • Establishment of Internal Audit Unit to strengthen internal control environment • Implementation of programmes to align behaviour with our purpose statement • Review the operating model at provinces and continue engagements with National Treasury regarding resourcing of the organisational structure

  23. 11. Budget allocation Originally requested budget for 2014/15: R300 million

  24. Budget allocation (cont.)

  25. Budget allocation (cont.)

  26. Budget allocation (cont.)

  27. Budget Allocation (CONT.)

  28. 12. Emerging TRENDS & RISKS • External Environment • Undue litigious approach by some state organs • Cases becoming more complex – putting stress on balance between swiftness and thoroughness • Exponential increase in case load despite referrals • Encouragement of Johannesburg Ombudsman and Military Ombudsman – noticeable decline in related complaints • Reputational damage through increased customer complaints • Internal Environment • Acute financial and human resources constraints • Staff resistance to Performance Agreements in face of impossible workloads (numbers and complexity e.g. 450 cases for investigator in Gauteng in a 365 day year. Not accounting for holidays and leave days • Acute office space shortages

  29. 13. Closing Remarks • The success of the Public Protector as an independent complementary oversight body lies in its contribution to strengthening constitutional democracy ensure public accountability and transparency in pursuit of good governance • Parliament’s support is requested with regard to: • Approving MTEF budget and request for additional funding • Ensuring that the Organisational Structure approved by Parliament nearly 5 years ago, is funded, while total structural review takes place, urgently. Additional funding for the structure is approx. R22 million • Common language, anchored in the Constitution NB sections 1, 33, 40, 96, 181-3, 195, 217 and 237, is used in oversight work on maladministration, executive ethics and corruption, to avoid impunity • Joining hands in ensuring remedial action as envisaged in section 182(1)(c)the Constitution is not replaced by impunity

  30. THANK YOU  SIYABONGA; REA LEBOHA; DANKIE Let it never be said that indifference, self interest and expedience prevented us from building a formidable partnership against maladministration, in all its forms from indifference to corruption. The pursuit of the constitutional promise of an improved quality of life for all demands that we work as partners in ending maladministration by helping the people exact accountability in the exercise of state power and control over public resources. 0800 11 20 40 www.publicprotector.org

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