GUEST: ADVOCATE PAUL HOFFMAN – Director Accountability NOW
THOUGHTLEADERS Fighting corruption: Why we need an ombud for whistle-blowers now (Opinion piece written in the Daily Maverick) by Advocate Paull Hoffman
Retired judges in South Africa are often referred to as part of the national treasure of the country. Long and distinguished careers in the service of the public by dispensing justice impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice make them so. They reach retirement age at the height of their powers and are sought after in the chairing of arbitrations, commissions of inquiry and other activities suitable to their lofty status. Whistle-blowers are also part of the national treasure of the land.
They are the lifeblood of the anti-corruption efforts so sorely needed in this time of kleptocracy, state capture and grand corruption. Without their testimony the criminal justice administration is hamstrung in its investigation and prosecution of crimes of greed committed by those who illicitly divert public funds for their own private gain.
But instead of being honoured and respected, whistle-blowers find themselves reviled, impoverished, unemployed, ill and isolated. They are regarded as “impimpis” by far too many people who should know better.
Others who have written at length about the need to protect whistle-blowers, about the inadequacy of the existing laws and about the urgent need to change the system to better protect those who take the risks inherent in blowing the whistle on wrongdoing are all correct to highlight the plight of those brave individuals who nevertheless raise their heads above the parapet.
Others who have written at length about the need to protect whistle-blowers, about the inadequacy of the existing laws and about the urgent need to change the system to better protect those who take the risks inherent in blowing the whistle on wrongdoing are all correct to highlight the plight of those brave individuals who nevertheless raise their heads above the parapet.
There is remedial legislation in the pipeline, but the process is too slow to bring immediate relief. The GIBS “white paper” on whistle-blowing is an example of the type of effort expended to alleviate the current plight of whistle-blowers. A petition calling on President Ramaphosa to prioritise action to protect whistle-blowers has been signed by more than 25,000 people.
One “workaround” solution immediately available at minimal cost and with maximum impact is the notion of having an ombud for whistle-blowers. An official who is approachable in confidence by those contemplating whistle-blowing who can help and guide them either toward officially sanctioned protection or to keep their identities secret from those involved in the malfeasance in question.
The ideal group from which to draw the ombud personnel is from the ranks of retired judges. They are all already on the payroll of the state because judges are appointed for life. The work of an ombud, duly supported by a secretariat, is not of an unnecessarily onerous nature to those with the qualifications and knowledge of the law that our retired judges have accumulated in the course of their careers.
Initially one ombud at the seat of each High Court and a chief ombud presiding over the structure of the “Office for the Ombud for Whistle-blowers” should provide welcome relief to our beleaguered whistle-blowers. There are manifest opportunities for rotating personnel so that the burden of work for the ombud is not borne on too few shoulders.
There is precedent for this type of solution to the problems of whistle-blowers in SA. The state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany has just such an office, occupied by a retired police official.
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