Municipal ombudsman your new last resort

A regional Ombudsman office (Region C) for the use of Roodepoort and Florida residents is to be established in the near future, but residents can start forwarding their complaints for investigation.

The office of the Johannesburg Ombudsman was officially opened by Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau on Wednesday 1 July. The office, based at Isle of Houghton in Wildsview, Houghton Estate, is an establishment of significant importance to the city as it is expected to help improve and enhance the municipality’s responsibility. Tau was accompanied by Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance Councillor Geoffrey Makhubo.

“We are looking forward to working with the Ombudsman and to ensure that all departments respond to queries raised by his office; we anticipate that in the coming months there will be a lot of interaction with the Office of the Ombudsman,” Councillor Tau was quoted saying at the opening.

Ombudsman Advocate Siduduzo Gumede outlined the task ahead of him and said it was up to the Speaker, the Executive Mayor and their offices to work together to ensure that his office was effective. His office will also work with the office of the Public Protector and the South African Human Rights Commission as well as the Auditor-General and the City Manager.

“It is important that when I leave office in five years, we should have established seven regional offices in the City. It is also very important that the findings of the Ombudsman are implemented,” he was quoted as saying.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela upon the announcement of the office at a previous occasion said the city would now be required to include a footnote in all its correspondence, advising residents that should they not be happy with services or information, they could contact the ombudsman. All its correspondence should also include the full contact details.

Complaint forms are available to be downloaded from www.joburgombudsman.org.za, but there are a few things to keep in mind before you complain:

• The ombudsman will not be able to help you if your query is less than 30 days old
• Complaints of the following nature are not accepted and will not be investigated: matters relating to legislative or executive decisions of council; matters relating to legal or arbitration proceedings; labour disputes; matters relating to internal and external audits of the City of Johannesburg; any alleged irregular conduct of councilors irrespective of political party
• Before you lodge a complaint with the ombudsman, lodge a formal complaint with Care Connect on 0860 562 874
• Ensure that you receive and save your complaint reference number from the City of Johannesburg
• Only if and when you have received no response on the complaint within 30 days thereof can you escalate the issue to the ombudsman; the following documents are to be included in your complaint: a copy of your ID, your reference number, proof of reference, email and/ or fax correspondence and the official complaints form

Details of the Johannesburg Ombudsman:

• Call Centre: 087 980 0058
• Email: info@joburgombudsman.co.za
• Physical address: Wildsview II, Isle of Houghton, 36 Boundary Road, Houghton Estate
• Operating hours: Mondays to Fridays from 8am til 5pm, Saturdays from 8am til 1pm, closed on Sundays and public holidays
• Complaints to: Official complaint form and accompanying documents to complaints@joburgombudsman.co.za

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