IN AN effort to raise awareness of the work of the Office of the Ombudsman for the City of Johannesburg and increase the education of residents’ human right to access to efficient service delivery, Advocate Siduduzo Gumede will hold a walkabout in Braamfontein on Wednesday, 24 May from 09h00.
Under the theme “Walk the Talk with the Joburg Ombudsman”, the walk will start and finish at 48 Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein, with meet and greet sessions at Thuso House and 66 Jorissen Place, respectively.
The campaign is also expected to create an awareness of the existence of the Office of the Ombudsman and the various communication channels available to residents who sought redress to their grievances with the City’s administration.
“We will have our team of Joburg Ombudsman Ambassadors stationed outside the Atrium to actively assist with completing and processing walk-in complaints relating to alleged maladministration and unfair treatment by the City of Johannesburg,” commented Joburg Ombudsman Advocate Gumede.
Since its inception in 2015, the core mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman has been to investigate any alleged acts of maladministration and human rights violations within the City of Johannesburg departments and municipal entities. And programmes such as the Walk the Talk with the Joburg Ombudsman help to bolster collaborative efforts towards result-driven stakeholder engagements.
Through the active involvement of the City, the office will work closely together with the respective city departments and municipal-owned entities, to ensure the enhancement of service delivery and that the right to quality of life, non-discrimination, and human dignity of the residents of the City is protected and upheld.
As an office of last instance, the role of the Office of the Ombudsman is to encourage accountability within the City’s administration and programmes such as “Walk the Talk with the Joburg Ombudsman” force us as an office to essentially practice what we preach.
So on that premise, we assure residents of the City of Johannesburg that we are indeed accessible and well-capacitated to investigate all complaints lodged with our office. Residents’ rights do in fact matter to us and no complaint is too small or too big,” concluded Advocate Gumede.
Residents who wish to lodge an official complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman must ensure that they have the following information on hand:
- A fully completed copy of the prescribed complaint form (copies will be available onsite);
- A copy of the complainant’s ID. If acting on behalf of another person, then Power of Attorney will be required;
- A reference number from the City of Johannesburg;
- Proof of Residence (if available) and
- All prior correspondence i.e. emails, SMS’s etc. that relate to the complaint.
