Former Competition Tribunal chief operating officer Advocate Oliver Josie suggested amending the legislation to make departments comply with remedial actions of the Office of the Public Protector.
Answering questions during an interview for the public protector position, Josie said that in future there might be a need for an amendment considering that there was 13% compliance with the public protector’s remedial action, with 65% not being implemented.
The court ruled about a decade ago that remedial action recommended by the public protector was binding unless set aside on judicial review.
“If you look at implementation, a lot of it relied on civil processes and Parliament helping to hold departments to account,” Josie said.
He said that if the non-compliance was to be improved, legislation should be amended to make it an offence to not comply with remedial action, as was the case with financial misconduct with the Public Finance Management Act.
“That will be a great incentive for public departments to comply,” he said.
Josie, who is currently the chairperson of the Water and Sanitation Department’s audit and risk committee, said his 30-year career focused on similar work to that of the public protector, including the application of law and forensic investigation.
He said that with his vast experience, which included being the deputy commissioner of the Competition Commission, he could add a lot of value to the institution.
Josie also said he had all the necessary credentials, having worked in the justice environment for many years.
“I am a team player, team-oriented and able to motivate the team to get the best out of them.”
Josie said he was sure the morale of staff at the Office of Public Protector was low, and there was a need to motivate employees.
“That is an area I am skilled in,” he said. Josie also said he had worked at NPA and the defunct Scorpions, where he handled complex cases.
“I have a track record of working on complex cases,” he said. Josie also said the mid-term review of the Public Protector’s Office showed that there was a skills deficit when it came to forensic investigation.
He said there should be focused recruitment of investigators, and efforts made to find the right people.
Josie also noted that the institution lost cases in court because investigations were not done correctly, or were not objective.
He said that as an incumbent he would look at the value chain that ranged from investigations to litigation to assess the shortcomings, and design a plan to hire the right people for the positions.
Cape Times