A former Legal Aid South Africa justice centre executive said she would boost the morale of staff at the Public Protector should she land the job.
Answering questions about making staff work optimally at the divided entity, advocate Lynn Marais said she would first look at staff morale.
“Staff morale is low and nothing will happen that is of great significance. I will look at what we can do with current resources to work optimally with what we have to improve the services at the office that are being rendered,” Marais said during interviews for the public protector position.
The former acting magistrate also said she would deal with staff morale to get everybody on the same page.
Marais said she would address backlogged cases if there were any.
“I will ensure we have jurisdiction to deal with matters,” she said.
Marais added that she would refer other matters not falling within the mandate of the Office of the Public Protector to other suitable agencies.
According to Marais, although high-profile cases were important, complaints from ordinary people would get the same kind of service.
“I will try and make sure we divide work for everybody. All matters to be investigated will get the same attention.
“Obviously, high-profile cases get more attention due to their nature but I don’t want ordinary people to lag behind,” she said.
Marais also said she would ensure that the rural people have access to the Office of the Public Protector.
She added that she would ensure there was an outreach programme and an advice line the public could reach to assist them to lodge complaints.
“I will also have agency agreement with other offices to see whether we can collaborate to make the Office of the Public Protector more accessible.”
Marais said she would ensure that people in specific regions were able to use official languages and make information accessible.
“I will also make use of media TV or radio to bring information to the people in rural areas,” she said.
Cape Times
