The Public Protector\u2019s office needs at least R1\u00a0billion to stay afloat and work effectively, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Briefing Parliament\u2019s justice committee on her budget and annual plan, the Public Protector and her delegation pleaded for more money.<\/p>\n
“I know it might sound like a scary amount,” she told the committee.<\/p>\n
In her strategic plan, which was also distributed in the committee, she said the allocation of R263.3\u00a0million “is a drop in the ocean”. The total budget for the 2017\/18 year is just over R301 million. Only half of their organisational structure was funded, while core functions were underfunded, Mkhwebane said.<\/p>\n
An allocation of R1bn would assist in addressing complex issues.<\/p>\n
Newly-appointed Public Protector CEO Themba Dlamini told the committee that the R1bn was a conservative amount. They were sitting with a shortfall of over R600\u00a0million, he said, over a three-year period.<\/p>\n
He would make a detailed account of how they came to R1\u00a0billion, he told the committee.<\/p>\n
The call for more funding for the body is not new.<\/p>\n
First 100 days<\/strong><\/p>\n Former public protector Thuli Madonsela continuously appealed for more money for the office, without much success.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Mkhwebane also analysed her first 100 days in office.<\/p>\n During that time, she said, nine investigation reports were released on matters affecting ordinary people.<\/p>\n “Performance on investigations has slightly improved, from 11% to 22%. Strategic positions were filled and more appointments were expected,” she told the committee.<\/p>\n A skills audit had been conducted, and high-speed connectivity installed at 80% of the Public Protector offices.<\/p>\n In her strategic report, she raised concerns about security at some of the Public Protector offices.<\/p>\n “[It] has become a major risk and several break-ins and muggings have been reported in provincial and regional offices. This is a matter of serious concern,” she said.<\/p>\n Due to financial constraints, they had not been able to relocate high risk provincial offices with urgency.<\/p>\n