Gumede’s appointment took effect on 1 April, but his office, which is situated at 36 Boundary Road in Houghton Estate, will start taking complaints from 1 July. Over the next three months, the office will be setting up infrastructure and hiring staff.
After Mayor Parks Tau announced his appointment, Gumede said impartiality was the key principle in the independence of the Office of the Ombudsman.
He said, “My job is to ensure impartiality and resolve disputes in a just and equitable manner to the satisfaction of the complainant.”
Meanwhile, Tau said the appointment of the ombudsman, the final arbiter in disputes between residents and City officials, was in line with the City’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040 (GDS 2040), which called for good governance, transparency and accountability in service delivery. He said Gumede had, in interviews with City officials, demonstrated his commitment to justice and exhibited ‘an acute sense of always striving to better the lives of others’.
Tau said, “We hope these qualities will again come to the fore as his office officially receives complaints from residents from the beginning of July.” Gumede started working as a clerk in KwaZulu-Natal before commencing his law studies at the University of Witwatersrand. He also studied in the United Kingdom where he obtained a Master of Law degree from the University of Kent in Canterbury; and from the University of Cape Town.
He grew up in the same neighbourhood as the late former Chief Justice Pius Langa and he said he was inspired to be a fearless fighter for human rights, like him. “That is why I gravitated towards law and wished to become the defender of the helpless as well,” Gumede said.
Before establishing a law practice, Gumede served as legal counsel for various companies and organisations.
He said, “I guess you can say I’ve come full circle – from being a clerk in the home affairs department in KwaDukuza, to being of service to residents to ensure that good governance, transparency and accountability are upheld by City officials.”
Gumede said the people he grew up admiring were social activists who dealt with community issues and the Office of the Ombudsman has been established to address just that.
