The call for our taxes to be spent wisely in areas that matter cannot be ignored by the governing authorities, for they are very aware of the R30bn plus each year, squandered by government’s unacceptable behavior. Surely the time is now for the authorities to heed the will of its citizens, who seek protection from this waste and abuse, by channeling more of their hard earned taxes to bolster the capacity of the Public Protector.

It comes as sad news for the people to read in Thursday’s press about the Public Protector’s efforts to seek funds and donations, when they know our government has these funds in their clutches. Why should other countries be asked to chip in and donate toward the protection of our country’s citizens from the abuse and squandering conducted by our governing officials?

Whose protector is she anyway? Ours. Whose money do the authorities withhold from our protector? Ours. So why do we have such difficulty in strengthening this critically important department that promotes accountability, discipline and good governance within the public sector?

During President Zuma’s State of the Nation address earlier this year, he spoke of tackling the “Weaknesses in procurement, management and operations systems that undermine the efficiency and effectiveness of government.” He further added… “Measures will be introduced to prevent public servants and public representatives from doing business with the state. These will be supported by improved implementation of the Financial Disclosure Framework, strengthened protection of whistle-blowers, and the provision of technical assistance to departments for the effective management of discipline.” Now, surely the president will know that Ms. Madonsela and her department have the desire, leadership and structures to do this work for him (us). So why doesn’t he just give her the money?

True leadership for the people is about protecting the people and their scarce resources through excellence within the public sector. If the president’s elected people can’t do their jobs properly in this regard, the president ought to boost the very department instituted to help him do so. It would take very little effort for the president to trim some fat from the menial departments and channel some of society’s hard-earned taxes to one that has the people’s interests deep within the core of its function and being.

Take for instance SANRAL’s increased marketing budget from R24m to R87m per annum a short while ago, largely to foist a barrage of propaganda for a failed e-toll system. What nonsense is that? Give Madonsela the R63m per annum and watch the good she could do for this nation, as opposed to what SANRAL has done.

Why is it that we worry about what will happen at the end of Ms. Thuli Madonsela’s term of office? Will our president change the rules of the game and let the people elect their own protector? “Dream on,” I hear you say. But it is a dream worth pursuing, lest we return to a tame and lame-duck Public Protector’s office, the likes of which we have endured in the past. We have now tasted the fruits of a strong, willing, courageous and accountable Public Protector. The people should expect nothing less going forward.

Perhaps it worries our governing leadership that with more resources, the Public Protector might spend more time investigating how and why organisations like Chancellor House and others happen to score lucrative business transactions in companies that are awarded tenders on state-owned infrastructure projects such as Medupi, which has cost society four times more and taken two years longer to build than it ought to.

There is a sincere belief that under such committed leadership by Ms. Madonsela, a Public Protector’s office of four times its current capacity will do significantly more good in protecting the people from the harmful behavior of our extractive governing institutions. Is this perhaps something our authorities fear?

A beefed-up PP office would not be short of tasks to tackle. One division could set out to address virtually all of Government’s major state-owned entities (Eskom, SAA, The Post Office, SABC, SANRAL and others) that are bleeding the nation of billions of rands through chronic mismanagement and squandering of resources. Another division could set out to drive the efficacy of our health sector, another the education of our children. A fourth division within her office could tackle the local leadership levels where rampant abuse has become rife at massive cost to society.

It’s not difficult, Mr President. Either you want to help the public by helping their Protector (to hold government to account), or you don’t. Which one is it, then? Ignoring the will of the people on this one could very well lead to a call for the withholding of a small portion of our taxes to attend to society’s need for protection from abuse. It’s a long call, I know, but it is a fight worth considering.

Failing which the people may be tempted to mount the biggest public funding campaign in our modern history, to dig a little deeper in their own pockets to fund their Protector for assistance to beat their government’s abuse. This might even give the people a right to elect their own Protector, and that would be embarrassing, now, wouldn’t it, Mr President?

It’s a long shot I, know, but one worth considering. DM