Newly appointed City of Johannesburg Ombudsman Siduduzo Gumede says he will not hesitate to "walk out" should his decisions not be taken seriously by city officials. Gumede, who was appointed on a five-year term by a multiparty committee as the city ombudsman after the drafting of a bylaw to enable his first-of-a-kind post, officially launched his office based in Houghton yesterday.Gumede's office, which is dedicated to investigating matters of maladministration, abuse of power and improper, unfair and discourteous conduct by municipal employees, will provide recommendations and oversee the implementation of these recommendations."If people are going to ignore my recommendations, there are other challenges in this country that I can put my expertise to, if I feel like people are wasting my time. I will stay the course for as long as I think my work is appreciated."With a start-up budget of R20-million approved by the council, the ombudsman will work with a team of 15 staff members.The office of the ombudsman will take on some of the complaints lodged to the public protector's office on behalf of the City of Joburg."The public protector and I have agreed that all the matters that she is handling on behalf of the city will come to this office . it is not to say the jurisdiction of the public protector is ousted. If people are still not happy with the findings of the ombudsman they can still escalate their grievances to the office of the public protector," said Gumede.Additional branches of the ombudsman will also be established across the city's seven regions starting from October...