Durban - This week Public Protector Thuli Madonsela was thrown a lifeline for the second time this year when Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene, announced in his medium-term Budget policy statement that her office would be given more funds.
Speaking on Saturday, a spokesperson for the national Treasury said: “While no adjustment will be made for the current year, we are intending to add to her (Madonsela’s) budget over the next three years.
“This will be announced as part of the February 2016 Budget and the funds will be in order to fill critical posts in her office.”
While the amount of Madonsela’s much-needed windfall has not yet been announced, in his medium-term Budget speech on Wednesday Nene said: “Over the next three years… the South African Human Rights Commission, the public protector and the office of the chief justice receive additional allocations to address capacity challenges.”
Nene said the fight against corruption “remains a central priority” and the additional money allocated to the office of the public protector would “help increase human resource capacity”.
Last year Madonsela told Parliament that her office was “technically insolvent” because of the rapid growth of the organisation and its increased workload over the past five years. Her staff of 314 had to handle 40 000 cases last year.
Prior to the 2015/16 budget speech earlier this year, Madonsela had requested R200 million for additional resources. In April she came head to head with the ANC in Parliament when the ruling party was critical of her budget and strategic plan presentation to the justice and correctional services portfolio committee.
However, the decision to increase her department’s budgetary allocation over and above the increase announced in the 2015/16 budget is seen by many as being a clear indication that the office of the public protector is viewed as an important organ of the state, and one that is critical to our democracy.
