Busisiwe Mkhwebane appointed AOMA first vice-president

The African Ombudsman and Mediators Association’s (AOMA) executive committee has appointed public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane as its first vice-president.

AOMA is a continental body of 40 public protector-type institutions and an additional four sectoral Ombudsman institutions, including the South African Military Ombud and the Western Cape Police Ombud.

It exists to advance the ideals of good governance and human rights in Africa by supporting and protecting the independence and development of Ombudsman institutions on the continent.

Mkhwebane’s appointment was one of three made at the committee’s meeting currently under way in the Burundian capital.

Host ombudsman Edouard Nduwimama takes over as president, while his counterpart from Cote d’Ivoire Adama Toungara will serve as the second vice-president.

The reconfiguration of the AOMA’s office-bearer collective follows the appointment of Fozia Amin, who has been the body’s president since 2014 to political office as minister of tourism and culture in her home country of Ethiopia, where she has also been serving as Ombudsman.

In terms of the AOMA constitution, an office-bearer vacancy may be filled by the executive committee from among the committee’s members for the remainder of the term until the next General Assembly.

The new appointees will serve until November 2018 when the next assembly – to be hosted by Rwanda – elects new office bearers.

As the first vice-president, Mkhwebane will, in the absence of the president, preside over all meeting of the AOMA, be in charge of the general supervision of the affairs and operations of the association, act as its spokesperson and perform other duties as may be required by the committee.

“I am humbled by the faith that my colleagues in the executive committee have shown in me by appointing me to this position of responsibility. The institution of the Ombudsman has a critical role to play in Africa regarding the realisation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 in relation to entrenching a culture of clean governance and promoting the values of peace and security, the upholding of human rights and respect for the rule of law across the continent,” Mkhwebane said.

Mkhwebane is a member of the committee by virtue of her position as the board chairperson of the AOMA’s research and training agency, the African Ombudsman Research Centre, which is based in the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.

This is not the first time South Africa is entrusted with a leadership position in AOMA. The public protector in South Africa served as the body’s executive secretary for two successive terms ending 2014.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.