The new public protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, says she wants to restore public confidence in the office.
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her at the beginning of the month after Parliament voted, in September, to remove her predecessor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, for incompetence and misconduct following her impeachment.
After her sacking, Ms Mkhwebana was sworn in last month as an EFF member of parliament.
Speaking to about 70 people at a Cape Press Club meeting at Kelvin Grove, Newlands, on Tuesday November 14, Ms Gcaleka said the office of the public protector, a chapter nine institution, had to be able to confront the many challenges in South Africa including unemployment, poverty and inequality.
“We want the office of the public protector to help serve the people of South Africa,” she said.
The public protector is an independent body that investigates irregular conduct by government officials and state departments and holds the state accountable for poor service delivery.
Ms Gcaleka said the office should be accessible to all South Africans.
“Compassionate leadership is close to my heart, not just as a legal institution but externally to everyone so that we can be accountable employees that provide a service,” she said.
Ms Gcaleka was acting public protector for 18 months after her predecessor was suspended.
She was a senior deputy director of public prosecutions for the National Prosecuting Authority for 12 years until her departure in 2016, and she has served as an adviser to various ministers.
All had not been well in the office of the public protector when she had taken over, but efforts were being made to regain the public’s faith in the institution, she said.
“We have a quality assurance team from branch level, and every report that I must sign is approved by the quality assurance team, which includes the CEO, the COO and executive manager of this institution.”
Every report she had worked on had been passed by all the senior members of the institution, she said.
“All decisions that have been made have gone through the correct process.”
Ms Gcaleka said the public protector’s office should be fair, impartial and independent.
“I am encouraged by the team that we have. I can see the energy and I can see the difference in the work that the team is producing.”
She said her office was prepared to work with investigative journalists and NGOs to tackle corruption.
