KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela signed an agreement setting out how investigations of provincial cabinet members and department heads would be handled.
|||Pietermaritzburg - KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela signed an agreement in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday, setting out how investigations of provincial cabinet members and department heads would be handled.
Madonsela said this would “expedite investigation processes in cases involving high-ranking officials and office bearers in the provincial government”.
Speaking during a meeting with the provincial cabinet, she said: “The protocol should be with all the provinces and municipalities because it ensures that timelines for responding to problems are set out clearly, which is important so that people do not lose hope that their plight is getting inadequate attention.”
Part of the agreement is that investigations should be completed within two months.
All complaints against heads of department and MECs would in future be directed to the director-general in the Office of the Premier, who has to acknowledge receipt of any complaints within five working days.
A written report has to be submitted to Madonsela's office within three weeks of such an inquiry.
A further two weeks is provided if Madonsela believes the director general's report is inadequate.
Mkhize said it was important for government and Chapter 9
institutions such as the Public Protector to work well together.
“What is good about the agreement is that it allows for better communication between the two structures helping in avoiding any misunderstanding,” said Mkhize.
Before her meeting with the cabinet, the Public Protector and her team carried out an unannounced visit to Edendale hospital on Wednesday and also met members of the public.
She used Wednesday’s meeting to report back to the provincial cabinet on all the issues observed and raised during her surprise visit to Edendale Hospital and meeting the community of Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
Sapa