Entities to councillors to Ombudsman: How to escalate service delivery issues
If your complaint about service delivery is falling on deaf ears, and you've tried all the channels, you can try the Ombudsman. The office of the Ombudsman serves as a facilitator for investigating and resolving complaints of alleged maladministration and human rights violations against the CoJ.
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) relies on its residents to log service delivery failures, so they may have the opportunity to attend to them.
If issues are not logged on the city’s service delivery systems, the entities may be unaware of the breakdowns. These entities include City Power, Johannesburg Water, Pikitup, Johannesburg Parks and Zoo, JMPD, and Johannesburg Road Agency, to name a few. Complainants must also ensure that they get a reference number.
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If service is not delivered within the service charter commitment time frame, residents can then escalate to their ward councillor, providing the reference number, the date logged, the service requested, and the physical address. The city states that residents must log their complaints with the correct entity before contacting the local ward councillor to escalate the matter.
“If service is still not delivered, residents are encouraged to approach the office of the Ombudsman with their queries, after having exhausted all CoJ and municipal owned entities’ internal query solving processes,” states CoJ. The office of the Ombudsman serves as a facilitator for investigating and resolving complaints of alleged maladministration and human rights violations against the CoJ. It also ensures accountability among the city, its departments, and entities.
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As an advocate for good governance and human rights within the CoJ, the office of the Ombudsman plays a crucial role in promoting citizen engagement and fostering trust in the city’s administration.
Under the leadership of advocate Siduduzo Gumede, it conducts citizen engagement clinics across all seven regions of the city. These clinics aim not only to educate residents about the services provided by the entity but also to encourage an: ‘engaged citizenry’, with various city departments and entities.
This initiative underscores the importance of transparency, accountability, and social justice in governance.
“Our ‘AtYourReach’ programme, facilitated by our ambassadors based in regional offices, drives these efforts,” explained Gumede.
The Ombudsman does not investigate any legislative or executive decisions by the city’s council or its executive organs, any matter where legal or arbitration proceedings have commenced, and any matter relating to the laying of a charge against an alleged offender. Moreover, it does not investigate matters that must be dealt with by labour law, financial affairs of the city’s council, complaints which do not have serious purpose or value, complaints where the complainant has not pursued all possible solutions offered by the city, and any alleged irregular conduct by the city.
Ombudsman complaint process:
• Call the Johannesburg Call Centre on 086 056 2874, or visit your nearest customer service centre.
• When lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman, make sure that you have the following documents on hand: A fully completed complaint form, a copy of the complainants ID, reference number, proof of residence, and all prior correspondence.
• Once you have fully completed and signed the complaints form, attach all supporting documents and email everything to complaints@joburgombudsman.org.za, or visit the regional offices with the completed form at 48 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein.
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