BackPublic Protector Adv. Thuli Madonsela and fellow African Ombudsman will launch the African Ombudsman Summit to be held at Southern Sun, OR Tambo International Airport in Ekurhuleni. The conference is hosted by the African Ombudsman Research Center (AORC) under the theme: "Strengthening Good Governance in Africa Through the Role of the Ombudsman".
AORC is wholly funded by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) through the African Renaissance Fund (ARF) as part of democracy and peace building in Africa.
The purpose of the Summit is to engage all African Ombudsman and Mediation Association (AOMA) member, stakeholders, regional and continental community in general in order to: Promote the concept of Ombudsmanship and encourage its development in the rest of Africa; Develop capacity and professionalism in discharging the duties of the office of Ombudsman; To support the alignment of the role of the offices with internationally accepted standards; Collect and disseminate research and date about the institution of Ombudsman; and Facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among the Ombudsmen in Africa.
The Summit will facilitate stakeholders engagement with a view to take the concept of Ombudsmanship a step higher as part of the African Agenda to promote good governance. It will provide a platform to give ongoing feedback on the state of African Ombudsman, enable discussions of relevant issues and ideas, and discussion and adoption of the AOMA Framework and provide an opportunity for regional and global cooperation.
The Speakers include Hon. Minister Jeff Radebe, Justice and Constitutional Development,Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, Chief Justice, Adv.
Thuli Madonsela, Chairperson of AORC Board and Executive Secretary of AOMA, Dr. A. Abdullai, AU Commissioner for Political and Social Affairs, Ms. A. Brock, Retired Ombudsman of Bermuda, Ms. R. Saint-Germain, AOMF, Ombudsman, Quebec, Pannan Souleymane Coulibaly, secretary General, mediator of Cote d Ivoire, Ms. Foziya Amin, Chief Ombudsman, Ethopia, Mr. A. Okoko Esau, African Union Commission for Political and Social Affairs; Prof. Managay Reddi, Dean and Head of the University of Kwazulu-Natal School of Law, Prof. V. Ayeni, Governance and Management Services International, United Kingdomamong others.
The Ombudsman will be in South Africa for four days starting with AORC Board meeting on 24 February, follow with the African Ombudsman Summit on 25-26 February and ending with AOMA Executive Meeting and on 27 February 2014.
Source: Press release by the Public Protector of South Africa on allAfrica.com
