Welcome address by the Executive Mayor of Cape
Town, Alderman Patricia de Lille, at the Public
Protector’s national stakeholders’ dialogue on 30
August 2012
We need fully resourced, independent Chapter 9
institutions
Adv. Thuli Madonsela,
Programme Director,
Guests
It is a great pleasure to welcome the Public Protector and her team to the
city for this occasion.
I applaud the Public Protector for embarking on such a critical initiative to
engage directly with all stakeholders who are affected by the work of her
office.
The Public Protector’s national stakeholder consultative dialogue is an
ideal opportunity for those voices that are barely heard to advocate for
good governance practices in the public sector and responsive service
delivery to all.
It is also a platform for the Public Protector to engage all members of the
public on the responsibilities of her office and to build a better
understanding of the important work that her office does.
It is essential for the success of any organisation – especially one that is
at the heart of guarding our constitutional democracy – to constantly
interact with its stakeholders to consolidate relationships and seek more
productive ways of resolving their concerns.
To many members of the public, the office of the Public Protector is the
avenue they trust most to investigate the abuse of power in all spheres of
government and parastatals in a fair and thorough way.
Many have little faith in the ability of public representatives and officials
to uphold the principles of good governance and take decisive action
against those implicated in maladministration.
This is why we need all Chapter 9 institutions to be independent and as
effective as possible to restore public faith in our constitutional
democracy.
We need these institutions to be well equipped for them to perform their
functions without unnecessary constraints.
The Public Protector’s office has achieved many successes in uncovering
maladministration in government since Ms Thuli Madonsela’s tenure. This
is a testament to the effectiveness that institutions supporting our
constitutional democracy can achieve when they are led by independent
people who owe their allegiance exclusively to the country’s constitution.
I would like to appeal to officials in all the three spheres of government
not to wait for an investigation or ruling by the Public Protector to do their
job properly.
It is also incumbent upon all public representatives across all political
parties to do our work diligently to prevent unethical behaviour wherever
it exists.
And we must take strong action against those implicated in
maladministration and not protect them from facing the consequences of
their actions simply because they are our fellow comrades.
We must all fulfill our roles with honesty, diligence and prudence in the
best interests of service delivery.
Where there are lapses, and there are many, the Public Protector must
continue to investigate any abuse of power without fear or favour.
The City of Cape Town supports the work that the office of the Public
Protector does to guard against threats to our constitutional democracy.
We will, as we have done in the past, fully co-operate with your office for
any possible investigation into the City’s affairs.
We will continue to support you in your work and will fully comply with
your office in any investigations that might involve us.
Because we understand that your role is not to sow vendettas, but to
strengthen our constitutional democracy.
I hope that this engagement will generate lively discussions that will go a
long way towards entrenching good governance in the public service.
Thank you