She’s considered South Africa’s own Iron Lady, but she’s a woman who’s won the respect and hearts of scores.
Thuli Madonsela is in the last few months of her term as public prosecutor, but even with just 164 days left in office she’s not slowing down.
This week, the SA Post Office was the latest state-owned entity to feel the wrath of her office as she released another damning report.
Her investigation found that the Post Office’s acquisition of a 10-year lease costing approximately R161 million in 2010 to house its national office at Eco Point Office Park was tainted by procurement irregularities and corruption.
The Post Office joins Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa which her office found guilty of several incidents of maladministration and improper conduct last August.
Madonsela has not shied away from making unpopular decisions.
She’s also had her share of run-ins with politicians, including President Jacob Zuma himself. In the not-so-distant past she found that SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng irregularly and rapidly increased the salaries of various staff members resulting in the public broadcaster footing a salary bill of R29m.
And she found Zuma was liable to pay back money for some of the upgrades done to his private residence in Nkandla.
In the next few months Madonsela is expected to release the findings on allegations of maladministration and prejudice by the SAA, allegations of maladministration by Telkom and a systemic investigation into allegations of maladministration relating to the delivery of public healthcare in the country.
This week she spoke to Independent Media about what she still hopes to achieve, about climbing mountains of the non-political sort and taking in a few more movies with friends and family.
The 53-year-old mother of two admits that in her seven years in office she’s disappointed friends often by failing to keep dates, especially those to go hiking.
“Whenever I set a date with my friends to go hiking I end up having to work. It doesn’t ever become convenient for me,” she says with a chuckle.
She adds: “I haven’t gone on holiday with all the members of my family at the same time. I miss going to theatre, the movies I don’t do that as often as I’d like,” adds the public protector who’s in the past admitted to being into opera as much as she’s a Kanye West fan.
She also listens to gospel and loves home-grown tunes too.
As she looks to the future, Madonsela says she can’t wait to go back to her legal practice. She believes she was born a human rights activist and it’s what keeps her going.
“I will continue to fight against social injustices, inequalities and administrative justice. Even before I was given this job, I would actively help my clients if they encountered problems with government departments. I would go knocking on those departmental doors looking for answers and back then I didn’t even have a title,” she says.
Going back to her roots also means spending time with her parents, returning to the community of Dlamini, Soweto. “Although my parents no longer live there, my neighbours are still the same. They always remind us of the good old days while we were growing up and it is lovely to stand on the street and catch up with them.”
Even though her job has been one of the toughest, she has no regrets. She says the obstacles have been worthwhile and a learning curve.
“What an incredible journey. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity. It hasn’t been easy, but I have also been stretched as a leader and that has allowed me to grow as an individual,” she says.
As for her relationship with Zuma, especially with the Nkandla scandal looming large, Madonsela’s eyes pop.
She giggles a little and says in her trademark diplomatic style that they enjoy “healthy and mutually respectful” relations. “He has never shown any animosity towards me. He has always remained warm when we do interact with each other in gatherings and we have decent conversations. Even before the Nkandla court case I saw him and he was fine.”
Madonsela has applauded the Presidency for acknowledging that her initial report was binding in a recent Constitutional Court case.
She says she will exit the office very proud of the work that she and her team have accomplished.
Among her priorities when she started was to raise the profile of the public protector’s office so that anyone in all the corners of the country felt they could access her office.
“I wanted to take this office to the next level; I wanted every magogo in any part of the country to know that there is an office like ours. We have helped to give voice to the voiceless,” she says.
“People come here when they have lost tons of money, we become their last alternative.
“They first go through so many lawyers who end up losing their cases in court. By the time they arrive here, they (would) have just lost too much that they shouldn’t have lost.”
She says while there is lots to celebrate as a country, more needs to be addressed to ensure that democracy is upheld.
Madonsela says addressing rising inequalities, poverty and racial intolerance is key in ensuring the growth of the country. She adds that the gaps are too wide and fuelling divisions.
“In a developing country some still don’t have electricity or decent food to eat. These vast differences are causing rifts between us. A hungry person is an angry person.
“We shouldn’t fuel anybody’s anger, we shouldn’t rubbish anybody’s pain. South Africa must find a way of reaching out to those who have not yet benefited from post-apartheid, but we must do this in a dignified manner.”
Pretoria News Weekend