Johannesburg - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is bothered by the public’s mistrust of her office.
“Combing through our official Twitter and Facebook timelines, listening to callers during live radio interviews or going through newspaper columns, it is clear that there is a lot of discontent and distrust,” she told members of the Gauteng legislature at the Johannesburg City Hall on Thursday.
She was not taking this lightly, and was aware of perceptions that she was a spy and a puppet.
Last year, the DA was the only party in the National Assembly that opposed Mkhwebane’s nomination to take over from Thuli Madonsela. It claimed she worked for the State Security Agency while employed as an immigration officer in China. Mkhwebane said she was working for home affairs at the time.
On Thursday, she said she wanted to be a refuge for the poor and marginalised. South Africans' trust and confidence was critical for her office.
Mkhwebane would spend the next 78 days visiting provinces to make people aware of her office’s work.
She raised concerns that a lack of resources limited her office’s ability to meet its constitutional mandate.
Mkhwebane had started talking to government about using magistrates' offices, courts, and municipal premises to provide access to the public protector's office.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/mkhwebane-worried-about-publics-mistrust-20170216
“Combing through our official Twitter and Facebook timelines, listening to callers during live radio interviews or going through newspaper columns, it is clear that there is a lot of discontent and distrust,” she told members of the Gauteng legislature at the Johannesburg City Hall on Thursday.
She was not taking this lightly, and was aware of perceptions that she was a spy and a puppet.
Last year, the DA was the only party in the National Assembly that opposed Mkhwebane’s nomination to take over from Thuli Madonsela. It claimed she worked for the State Security Agency while employed as an immigration officer in China. Mkhwebane said she was working for home affairs at the time.
On Thursday, she said she wanted to be a refuge for the poor and marginalised. South Africans' trust and confidence was critical for her office.
Mkhwebane would spend the next 78 days visiting provinces to make people aware of her office’s work.
She raised concerns that a lack of resources limited her office’s ability to meet its constitutional mandate.
Mkhwebane had started talking to government about using magistrates' offices, courts, and municipal premises to provide access to the public protector's office.
News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/mkhwebane-worried-about-publics-mistrust-20170216
