Only 3% of the public protector’s remedial actions have been fully implemented by state organs in the two years between April 2021 and March this year.
A whopping 62% was ignored and 26% partially implemented the recommended action, parliament’s justice portfolio committee heard on Wednesday. Reports that are on judicial review stood at 9%.
Acting COO Nelisiwe Nkabinde said at 62%, the remedial action that has not been implemented was high as this was where the office’s impact was felt in terms of changing the internal controls that may have been found to be lacking or not sufficient in the various state organs as well as holding accountable those public officials against whom adverse findings may have been made in the various reports.
She said they were looking at all the matters that were outstanding to make sure that the percentage of implementation was improved.
To this end, the office created a special unit within the COO’s office that focuses on following up on the implementation of remedial action.
“So there is constant engagement with the various state organs to follow up on the outstanding remedial actions and the reasons they have not implemented.”
The intervention was bearing results as the office was seeing improvements on the implementation of its binding recommendations, she said.
Nkabinde said they had also been submitting quarterly reports to National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula who, along former deputy president David Mabuza, helped to get state institutions to implement the reports.
The Constitutional Court ruled in March 2016 that the remedial action recommended by the public protector was binding and should be implemented. The ruling, by then chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, came after both parliament under then speaker Baleka Mbete and the executive under president Jacob Zuma ignored then public protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings and remedial action about the multimillion-rand upgrades at Zuma’s home in Nkandla.
The court said the remedial action is binding until set aside by the high court.
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Only 3% of public protector's remedial actions implemented by state organs, parliament hears
Image: Freddy Mavunda/Business Day
Only 3% of the public protector’s remedial actions have been fully implemented by state organs in the two years between April 2021 and March this year.
A whopping 62% was ignored and 26% partially implemented the recommended action, parliament’s justice portfolio committee heard on Wednesday. Reports that are on judicial review stood at 9%.
Acting COO Nelisiwe Nkabinde said at 62%, the remedial action that has not been implemented was high as this was where the office’s impact was felt in terms of changing the internal controls that may have been found to be lacking or not sufficient in the various state organs as well as holding accountable those public officials against whom adverse findings may have been made in the various reports.
She said they were looking at all the matters that were outstanding to make sure that the percentage of implementation was improved.
To this end, the office created a special unit within the COO’s office that focuses on following up on the implementation of remedial action.
“So there is constant engagement with the various state organs to follow up on the outstanding remedial actions and the reasons they have not implemented.”
The intervention was bearing results as the office was seeing improvements on the implementation of its binding recommendations, she said.
Nkabinde said they had also been submitting quarterly reports to National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula who, along former deputy president David Mabuza, helped to get state institutions to implement the reports.
The Constitutional Court ruled in March 2016 that the remedial action recommended by the public protector was binding and should be implemented. The ruling, by then chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, came after both parliament under then speaker Baleka Mbete and the executive under president Jacob Zuma ignored then public protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings and remedial action about the multimillion-rand upgrades at Zuma’s home in Nkandla.
The court said the remedial action is binding until set aside by the high court.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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