Joburg residents keep Ombudsman on his toes
18 February 2016
When Johannesburg’s first Ombudsman, Advocate S’duduzo Gumede, walked into his office in Houghton for the first time on 1 July 2015 to officially start his new job as an independent arbiter of disputes involving residents and the City’s administration, he knew it was not going to be a walk in the park.
And it wasn’t. Considering that the City has 10 departments and 15 entities, and a population of more than four million people, the Office of the Ombudsman already had its work cut out for it. Adv. Gumede and his staff of 13 had to hit the ground running. And they did.
About six months after its establishment, the Office of the Ombudsman has received more than 1 500 inquiries from disgruntled Johannesburg residents and business people. There is a process to be observed in filing a complaint in that supporting documentation must be complete before a case is opened. It is equally important for the complainant to show that they have given the City an adequate opportunity to address the matter before they escalate it to the office of the ombudsman. Adv. Gumede explains that his office is one of last instance in a chain of dispute resolution platforms available.
Of the 1500 inquiries about 600 matured into actual cases opened with the office and of that 600 about 96 have been resolved.
The Office of the Ombudsman was created by a by-law of Council for the sole aim of providing confidential and impartial assistance in resolving disputes and grievances by Johannesburg residents and businesses.
The office is responsible for investigating complaints, reporting findings and mediating fair settlements.
Announcing Gumede’s appointment in April 2015, Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau said the move was “in line with the City’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040, which calls for council employees and leadership to embrace good governance practices and requires the City to be responsive, accountable, efficient and productive in the way it carries out its duties”.
“The City seeks to ensure that customers and citizens feel acknowledged through a customer care approach that puts people first and the Office of Ombudsman has to hold everyone in the City’s administration accountable,” he said.
It was welcomed by Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela, who described it as a move in the right direction.
Speaking during an interview in his office last week, Adv. Gumede said since the office’s inception his staff of 13 have on occasion handled up to 400 inquiries a month. But not all these had resulted in actual cases being opened. As at 31st January this year of all the cases that have been opened, 433 are billing queries, 36 relate to property valuations and rates, 12 to development planning, 9 to water and sanitation and the balance to other services. “The Office of the Ombudsman has handled more than 270 walk-ins to date and there seems to be a desire from residents to deal face-to-face with the office. Residents can also lodge complaints through a dedicated call centre and via email.
The Ombudsman said there were some delays in resolving cases and attributed this to the fact that the office is not yet fully capacitated both in terms of people and systems. There is a lot of work that must happen between this office and the City to agree turnaround times and streamline processes.
“We also plan to visit all the City’s seven regions as part of our outreach program so that the Office is accessible to as many people as possible,” said Adv. Gumede.
Residents and businesses can contact the Office of the Ombudsman by calling 087 980 0058 or 0102882800, through email at info@joburgombudsman.org.za, website: www.joburgombudsman.org.za or by visiting the office at Wilds View 2, Isle of Houghton, 36 Boundary Road, Houghton Estate.
The office is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. It is closed on weekends and public holidays.