Newsletter from the Office of the City Ombudsman, Cape Town Issue 8 December 2009
As we prepare for 2010, we can’t help but look back at the past year with a certain degree of pride. Despite 2009’s many challenges, we made some remarkable strides, which we’ve included in the stories that follow. We are eagerly anticipating the year ahead, and the potential it holds to boost our economy and bring new visitors to our shores. Our Office has gone through some major changes, and we’ve said goodbye to old colleagues and welcomed new ones.

I would like to wish all of our readers a restful festive season. Please enjoy and remember to drive safely!

If you have any comments or suggestions about what you would like to read in the next issue, feel free to contact me.

Until next year!
 
Natasha Paulse
Office of the City Ombudsman

In this issue:
World Cup Fever hits Cape Town

There was great energy and excitement in the mother city as the Final Draw to determine the match schedule for the 32 participating teams in the 2010 FIFA World CupTM took place on 4 December 2009. Cape Town welcomed dignitaries, celebrities and soccer greats from around the globe for a day and night of exhilaration. Capetonians flocked into the city centre and showed the world how to celebrate.

At the Ombudsman’s Office, the excitement generated by the World Cup is going to reach fever point over the next few months as the City of Cape Town prepares to host the event in June and July. Workers are busy with construction and renovations and Cape Town Stadium is ready. We can’t wait! We don’t know exactly what 2010 holds, but if the Final Draw celebrations were anything to go by, we can expect bigger and greater things as we introduce international soccer teams and their supporters to this beautiful place we call home.
Bulelwa Siwisa and David Phiri Alicia Wilson and Fatiema Bassier
HIV/Aids Touches Us All
HIV/Aids is a devastating pandemic, both locally and internationally. It has been two decades since the disease first surfaced in the global population and in South Africa, large numbers of people live with it, especially the marginalised and vulnerable.

This year the government has heeded the call made by interest groups and the public by finally making some much needed changes in policy. President Jacob Zuma announced new plans for earlier and expanded treatment for HIV positive babies and pregnant women. This marks a dramatic shift from the previous cabinet’s policy on this issue. The new plan, which will take effect from April, expands treatment to all children under one year of age, regardless of their CD4 cell level. Patients suffering from tuberculosis and HIV will also qualify for treatment if their CD4 count is 350 or less, compared to the current minimum of 200. Pregnant women who are HIV positive can also start treatment. The new practises, which are in line with the new WHO recommendations, mean that our country is tackling the disease sooner rather than later, and are therefore highly commended.

HIV/Aids affects us all in some way, which means that we can all play a part in combating it. In the City of Cape Town, an Employee Assistance Programme has been established to look at ways of educating staff about it and assisting those who are infected and affected by the virus. The unit hosted a Wellness Week during October 2009 to create awareness and encourage staff to get tested. Staff from the City Ombudsman joined other City staffers in getting themselves tested in support of World Aids Day on 1 December.

There are many ways to get involved and make a difference. We can all contribute in the fight against Aids by educating ourselves and those around us and reaching out to those who have been affected by the virus. See www.sagoodnews.co.za/index2.php for advice on ways to make a difference.

Thailand Ombudsman visits Cape Town
A delegation from the Thailand Ombudsman’s Office visited the City Ombudsman’s Offices in October 2009. The purpose of the visit was to share knowledge and experience in the field of ombudsing, discuss challenges, differences and similarities, and establish co-operative linkages between the two Offices. The delegation consisted of General Teeradej Meepien (Chief Ombudsman) Mr Pramote Chotimongkol (Ombudsman), Mrs Panit Nitithanprapas (Ombudsman), Mr Chalermsak Chantaratim (Deputy Secretary General) and Mrs Nongnuch Tanin (Senior Academic and Technical Support Officer.) The issues discussed included powers and duties, legislation and organisational structures, processes and complaint handling procedures. The Thailand Office also showed a keen interest in finding out how to establish such an Office at local government level. Despite being different to our system (the system in Thailand is run at a parliamentary level and the Ombudsman has a fixed term of Office which runs for a period of six years), the visit was successful as a an informal agreement was reached for the two Offices to share future resources and innovations.

The Thailand Ombudsman was eager to understand how we operate according to a hybrid model of ombudsing. Our model contains specific the elements of the classical approach such as Formal Investigations and record keeping, whereas the organisational approach is informal and keeps no records.


New Staff join the Ombudsman Office

We have welcomed three new staff members to our Office: Bulelwa Siwisa, Investigation Officer, Fatiema Bassier, Investigation Officer and Alicia Wilson, Administration Clerk. These enterprising ladies will enable the Office to function more efficiently. Bulelwa and Fatiema bring different and unique organisational skills to our investigating team. They have both been with the City for more than ten years. Alicia has strong administrative skills, which help to ease some of the pressure in the administration of the Office.


Introducing Carla, our Office’s ‘face’

Carla is the first person a complainant meets when entering the Ombudsman’s Office and with her smile and calm manner, is able to calm down even the most irate customer. Her job as a Support Assistant entails providing administrative support to the directorate, as well as a client liaison service to ensure the efficient operation of the front office.

A normal working day includes monitoring incoming complaints, ensuring that telephonic calls and visitors to the Office are attended to, screening the nature of the visit, attending to specific matters and recording details of enquiries or redirecting these to the appropriate department or regulatory body. Carla, who has been employed in the Office since 2001, is an extraordinary individual. She never loses the patience or calm demeanour that makes her a special and invaluable part of the Office.

One on one with Carla

Tell us about your family?

“My partner and I have three beautiful energetic daughters and a German Shepherd. My extended family consists of my mother, father and two brothers.”

Who inspires you the most and why?

“I am inspired by people's life stories, specifically challenges that they have experienced and overcome. I am also inspired by people who attempt things that others won't risk and by people that impact positively on their workplaces. I’m a family person, so the people who inspire me the most are my parents and partner. Their love and devotion are my foundation.”

“I ‘m inspired by life, and feel truly blessed mostly every day.”

What fond memories do you have of your childhood?

“There are so many! My favourite childhood possessions were my first yellow Raleigh bike and my first roller skates (which were orange and had glitter in the roller balls!). My father had these sent from Port Elizabeth as he was working there at the time. I remember my late grandfather, who was part of the Woodstock coons called the “Banana Boys” and my late grandmother, who would get upset if we woke her when she snored. Also dear to me is my memory of my mother following me to school when I was Sub B just to see that I had crossed the road safely and of course, camping at Koel Bay.”


Information session in delft

The Office of the City Ombudsman hosted an information session at the Delft Library on 16 October 2009. The community welcomed the session, as many of them have never heard of the Ombudsman, and asked questions such as, ‘How much does it cost? Are there work opportunities?’

The community is plagued by unemployment, houses in dire need of repair, drugs and crime. It is one of Cape Town’s poorer areas and is in desperate need of intervention to help eradicate its social ills and problems. Many have given up hope of ever getting out of the circumstances they find themselves in.

The Office hopes to assist communities such as these in bringing about improved service delivery in the areas that need them the most. We would like to thank the Delft Library staff for hosting us and going the extra mile.
   
Residents from the community of Delft Clarissa Williams and Natasha Paulse pictured with Jenefer Abrahams, Head Librarian at Delft Library


Is the Ombudsman Office making a difference?

Is the Ombudsman making a difference? If we don’t have any real power to enforce recommendations, then how do we get departments to listen to us and follow our recommendations?  

Questions such as these have been a much debated topic since the inception of ombudsing. Generally, the Ombudsman does not issue binding recommendations, a principle established in the tradition of the classical approach to ombudsing. By sharing our judgment about whether or not departments are acting fairly and reasonably and convincing those in authority that our recommendations are sound and should be implemented, we act as the City’s ‘conscience’ and thereby achieve results. Sometimes this is difficult due to our hybrid model of ombudsing, which incorporates classical and organisational elements. Many complainants doubt that we are neutral and independent due to the City’s reporting structure. Since our inception, we’ve come a long way in resolving doubts such as these. We use four tools to come up with possible solutions.

Our toolkit for dealing with doubts

First, we establish our general credibility with departments and the public by gaining buy-in and sharing information, and educating stakeholders about what we do and our processes – all on an ongoing basis. Our aim is to reassure departments and complainants that we share the City’s goal of improving service delivery. We want to move away from the stigma that is attached to regulatory bodies such as ours and create an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.

Secondly, we provide input on policy. We contact departments where we feel policy is lacking and discuss ways of moving forward. We use the relationships we have developed with departments and combine these with practical and logical informal interventions. At times, to be successful, each side needs to give and take in the interest of compromise and achieving consensus.

The third means is providing a complaint investigation service by listening to both sides, allowing each party an opportunity to air their views without passing judgment, understanding cause and effect and having a good sense of judgment. The Ombudsman has to remain impartial and neutral throughout the investigation, refrain from making assumptions and avoid jumping to conclusions without taking sides.

Lastly, we provide a report to the City Manager that details our statistics and cases, with specific focus on how many complaints have been filed and finalised. This report is used as a tool to provide departments with an overview of the main problems in their respective sections and to recommend changes in policy where necessary to encourage sound decision-making.

Challenges

Some of our challenges include internal politics, where no amount of discussion will take an issue forward or bring about consensus; ‘hot’ topics in the political arena; issues where the facts in question are debated; and problems where the department’s assumptions are completely different to those of the complainant, and both sides are adamant that they are correct. We then need to choose which version of the facts we can use to draw conclusions and make recommendations. To complicate matters further, there may be issues that need to be addressed by the City that are simply not on its priority list, as these are planned well in advance as part of its Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The role of the Ombudsman is also made more difficult in the face of municipality budget constraints, service delivery constraints, dips in staff morale and complainants’ wide ranging needs across racial, income and geographic barriers.

Does the Office make a difference? The Ombudsman has a more effective means of effecting improvements in administrative practises and procedures than the courts, owing to its unthreatening, non-confrontational and co-operative approach. Our reliance on conciliation and persuasion is aimed at the achievement of friendly solutions and settlements rather than winner/loser situations. Our main tools aren’t legal pleadings or binding judgments but are based on fact-finding and reasoning.


Statistics

April to June 2009 (Quarter four)