Media Statement; Thursday, 16 October 2014 Subject: There’s a massive price to pay if maladministration and corruption were not dealt with- Deputy Public Protector There was a massive price to pay in terms of national decline if maladministration and corruption in state affairs were not seen as a common enemy by the public and those entrusted with public power. This was the view of Deputy Public Protector Adv. Kevin Malunga on Thursday. He was addressing his office’s stakeholder consultative dialogue meeting in Pietermaritzburg. “We have a huge price to pay, if we did not collectively and decisively deal with maladministration and corruption,” he said. Adv. Malunga added that the service delivery protests were experienced in the country, which often turned violent were a result of ignoring allegations of maladministration and corruption in the process undermining good government programmes. “Corruption and maladministration deprives ordinary citizens of the constitutionally promised better life for all,” he said noting that other integrity bodies such as the Auditor-General had quantified the financial cost of this scourge as running into billions of rand. The Deputy Public Protector warned that not much was going to be done if maladministration and corruption were not seen as a common enemy to the progress of the country. He called on the decision makers in the province to team up with his office in fighting these two enemies. The Deputy Public Protector further called on the delegates to help institutions supporting constitutional democracy which included his office to give the state a better image through promoting good governance and fighting any form of maladministration and corruption. He thanked municipalities in the province who have been responsive when called upon by the office to respond to questions about their respective municipalities. He encouraged those who have been slow to tag along saying that would prevent unnecessary service delivery protests. “When we call you to our offices, we are not calling you to embarrass you but rather to a conversation where we guide each other towards solving a national problem,” he said. The Deputy Public Protector called on organs of state not to fear the Public Protector, as by doing so implied they feared the Constitution. He added his office was created to help organs of state do their jobs diligently while making sure that people received services and improper conduct was rooted out. He listed several municipalities in the province who have been slow in responding to their calls. These municipalities included the Ethekwini Metro Municipality, Mtubatuba Local Municipality, KwaDukuza Local Municipality and others. Adv. Malunga called on other municipalities to join others in opening communication channels with the people and also embrace his office’s efforts of helping to create a state that is accountable, operates with integrity and is responsive to the people’s needs. End For more information, contact: Kgalalelo Masibi Spokesperson Public Protector South Africa 012 366 7006 079 507 0399 [email protected] publicprotector.org 0800 11 20 40
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:31:53 +0000
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