A Joburg Ombudsman is an independent and impartial officer who deals with service delivery and human rights complaints lodged by residents against the City of Johannesburg.
The Office of the Joburg Ombudsman was established to assist with the strengthening of ethical behaviour amongst public servants as well as to promote good governance in the delivery of services to the residents of Johannesburg.
The primary function of the Joburg Ombudsman is to be a neutral facilitator who provides confidential and impartial assistance in resolving complaints made by residents against the City of Johannesburg.
The Joburg Ombudsman will investigate complaints of service delivery, alleged maladministration, and blatant disregard of the rights of residents by the City of Johannesburg, its departments, municipal-owned entities, and their respective employees.
The Joburg Ombudsman will not investigate complaints pertaining to legislative or executive decisions by the City Council or its executive organs, any matter relating to legal or arbitration proceedings, labour relations matters, internal or external matters concerning the council’s financial affairs or alleged irregular conduct of a counsellor and complaints that have not exhausted all avenues and remedies prescribed by the City of Johannesburg nor those that do not fall under the mandate of the Office of the Joburg Ombudsman.
Any suspicion of fraud and corruption may be reported at any police station or through the City of Johannesburg’s Anti-Fraud Hotline: 0800 002 587.
If you are unable to resolve a dispute after exhausting all remedies prescribed by the City of Johannesburg’s various internal support channels and structures, only then may you approach the Office of the Joburg Ombudsman as a place of last resort.
The Joburg Ombudsman has the power to (1) demand that any employee appear before him and produce any record, book or file, object or document in any form (2) enter any premises owned, controlled or managed by the municipality or its entities to examine any records necessary as well as take charge of or remove them for investigation and (3) report on and ensure the observance of human rights by taking steps to redress any human rights violations.
You may lodge a complaint with the Public Protector.
You must complete a complaint form which is available on our website or contact the Office of the Joburg Ombudsman Helpdesk on 010 288 2802 or send a WhatsApp to 081 365 0225 or an e-mail to complaints@joburgombudsman.org.za to get a complaint form. Once the complaint form is completed, it can be sent to us via e-mail, post or walk-in to our head office or regional offices of the City of Johannesburg.
Yes. The submission of complaints may be made in any of the 11 official South African languages. The Office of the Joburg Ombudsman also has regional ambassadors who are trained to assist residents that may struggle with writing a formal complaint.
The City of Johannesburg has been advised to include a footnote in all its correspondence informing the public that if they are not happy with a particular service or information provided, they have an option to take the matter up with the Office of the Joburg Ombudsman.
No. Members of the public do not have to pay anything to access assistance from the Office of the Joburg Ombudsman. We offer a free service to all Johannesburg residents.
The Joburg Ombudsman will set out in writing findings and recommendations to either find justification for the complaint, sufficient evidence to support it, merits and whether it is vexatious or frivolous, or outside his jurisdiction. Where justified, the Joburg Ombudsman will approach the City Manager or municipal employee delegated by the City Manager to settle the matter. This could be done through negotiation, mediation or recommendation to seek redress in the form of an apology, corrective action or referral for further investigation.