SA is in a moral and leadership credibility crisis‚ warned Makhosi Khoza‚ the chairwoman of Parliament’s ad hoc committee to appoint a new Public Protector.

Khoza said the leadership crisis led to disgruntled South Africans using violent means to communicate dissatisfaction to their leaders as a result of a loss of faith in administrative processes and systems.

She added that Thuli Madonsela’s successor was critical to addressing this challenge.

Also read: All I ever wanted was compliance - Madonsela

Madonsela‚ whose term in the office ends in October‚ has been hailed for leading the office of the Public Protector through unprecedented financial difficulty and political antagonism.

Khoza was speaking during a round table discussion organised by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office in Cape Town on Tuesday morning. She spoke hours ahead of announcing the more than 70 people nominated to succeed Madonsela.

“We can no longer lie about our leadership credibility crisis. The fact that we are starting to see members of the public being so enraged that they destroy property that is meant to benefit them‚ the situation in Tshwane and Limpopo means we have to do some introspection and ask ourselves what it is that we are not doing right‚” Khoza said.

She also hailed Madonsela for the role that she played in preserving the independence of the office and‚ in the process‚ raising awareness among South Africans of the office’s importance in safeguarding democracy and upholding the rule of law.

“I don’t think that she (Madonsela) did anything outside of what is expected in her position. In fact‚ I believe her actions made the entire country aware of the importance of her office and‚ really‚ whoever takes over from her is going to have to up the game‚” she said.

Project manager for Corruption Watch Kavisha Pillay said the civil society group embarked on the Bua Mzansi initiative in February with other organisations to raise awareness about the process of selecting a new Public Protector.

The aim was to achieve increased public awareness of the office of the Public Protector‚ increase public participation in the current appointment process‚ increase transparency and to spark public debate‚ she said.

“We want to create transparency and encourage members of the public to forward questions for short-listed candidates. We are asking people in the public to tell us what they want to see in the preferred candidate chosen by Parliament‚” Pillay said.

Bua Mzansi concluded a survey amongst staff members at the office of the Public Protector and Members of Parliament to canvas their views on what qualifications‚ values and characteristics Madonsela’s successor should have.

Human Sciences Research Council researcher and former manager of the Public Protector’s Western Cape office Gary Pienaar said that he hoped Parliament would begin to take the office of the Public Protector more seriously than it had in the past.

“The Public Protector is not accountable to Parliament for her decisions. The Public Protector is accountable to the people‚ to the Constitution and answerable to the courts if her decisions are subjected to judicial review‚” he said.

The ideal candidate for the position is expected to be a judge or have 10 years’ experience as an advocate and knowledge of public administration and ethics. Reported nominees for the position include Deputy Public Protector David Malunga and Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai.

– TMG Digital/BDlive