Neels Van Der Merwe

Diverse legal Matters

• Prosecuted accused persons in the magistrates’ courts on behalf of the State.
• Leds evidence by the State witnesses and cross-examined the witnesses of the accused.
• Conducted Inquests
• Appeared in Maintenance Court hearings and applications

• Directorate: Legal Process (Sub-directorate: Administration of Justice
• Applications for centralisation of trials
• Representations/ Complaints on behalf of Director general, Minister and deputy Minister in relation to administration of Estates and administration of Justice on both lower and Hight Courts
• Developed and implemented performance improvement strategies and plans to promote continuous improvement.
• Actively listened to complainants, handled concerns quickly and escalated major issues to supervisor.

• The investigation, under the control of the Public Protector of complaints against the State Administration (on national, provincial and local government level), state corporations and certain statutory bodies
• My duties included the gathering of information and evidence, legal research, the drafting of memoranda and correspondence, interviewing complainants and witnesses, and the handling of enquiries regarding the office
• The drafting of closing reports on all complaints, as well as reports to Heads of Departments, Members of the Executive, Provincial Legislatures, as well as to Parliament, as required in terms of the Public Protector Act, 1994
• Receive and refer general enquiries from members of the Public regarding a wide variety of complaints and enquiries outside the jurisdiction of the OPP, including consumer issues relating to customer services, private companies, including Banks, Private pension funds, long term as well as short term insurance matters, etc
• Ad Hoc/ Designated Tasks
• On an ad hoc basis I have from time to time been exposed to and involved some aspects of office administration relating to for instance -
• Procurement, (including Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations, the State Tender Board Act, 1968, the State Tender Board General Conditions and Procedures (ST 36), the State Tender Board User Manual (ST37), as well as the provision of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, 2000)
• Finance (previously assisted with the drafting of a Medium Term Expenditure Framework for the office, In an advisory capacity to the Public Protector I was involved in the consultation process with the Minister of Finance on a new salary dispensation for the Office;
• Apart from dealing with complaints relating to the Government Employees Pension Fund, I also advised and assisted Management and colleagues on the implications regarding their pension benefits and options when the OPP severed from the Department of Justice
• Human resources/ performance management (personnel assessments performance appraisals, assessment instruments, performance indicators and performance assessment policies, both locally and abroad / severance from justice/ proposal for the development of a new remuneration structure for the office.)
• Information technology: Was involved in the project management and supervised the design and development of the technical and functional specifications of the new Case Management System and database, including a review of the business and case management processes of the OPP to determine specific business requirements that will be handled within the workflow and scheduling module of the system
• In 2006 part of a records audit team that performed an audit of physical and electronic case records in one of the Provincial Offices of the OPP and drafted an audit report
• Conducts legal research on ad hoc basis for the Deputy Public Protector, the Control Investigator, Chief Investigator and colleagues
• Finalised two major systemic investigations in 2008/09 as part of a task/ project team (Copies on www.publicprotector.org –)
• Investigation into administrative delays in criminal appeals: Report with recommendations issued to Minister of Justice, Min for Correctional Services and other Institutions:
• Identification of systemic deficiencies in the practices and procedures for the recovery of departmental debt from pension benefits
• Finalised drafting of comprehensive Internal Procedure Manual for conducting of Investigations for the Office of the Public Protector
• Represented OPP at OSD Implementation Committee and OSD Steering Committee within Justice Cluster
• Coordinated, with HR, the implementation of OSD for legal professionals in the OPP, including experience audit and financial implications
• Advised moderation Committee/ Exco on implications of OSD on Performance management and Development
• In August 2009 I was also appointed to the OPP Job Evaluation Panel, which has been commissioned to evaluate 25 key positions in the OPP
• Accompanied CEO on study tour to the UK in 2010 for benchmarking best practices and operational improvements against the UK Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman
• Responsible for the finalisation and publication of the Rules relating to Investigations by the Public Protector and Matters Incidental thereto, 2018
• Currently involved in the following major ad hoc projects:
• Development and Implementation of new electronic case management system
• Roll out of Public Protector Rules
• Review of Investigation Handbook, including investigation standards and Standard operating procedures
• Development and adoption of quality management policy and system for the Public Protector South Africa
• Development and adoption of Knowledge Management Strategy
• Job Description task team
• Job evaluation team

• Provision of Legal research support, opinions, comments and advice on core business as well as operational matters, including HR (OSD and general conditions of service), Procurement and Finance
• Providing legal research and advisory services to the Public Protector and Deputy Public Protector
• Drafting of speaking notes, research papers, concept documents and ad hoc reports on request of CEO/DPP/PP for purposes of reports, workshops and conferences dealing with matters relating to the mandate of the Public Protector, including maladministration, good governance and corruption
• Rendering corporate support to the CEO on strategic matters
• Assist with presentations, submissions and reports on operational matters, including Parliamentary Reports on strategic plan and annual report, Inputs and preparation of presentations to Treasury on MTEF, facilities management (accommodation requirements)
• Prepare comments on relevant draft Bills and Legislation affecting the Public Protector
• Quality management system to consolidate and standardise office policies
• Compliance with PAIA and POPIA regulatory framework
• Knowledge and information management (including management of Unit, development of operational plan, participate in strategic planning, performance evaluation and assessment, quarterly reporting to MANCO)
• Manage Research and library capacity
• Research and assistance to support investigations and drafting on investigation support.
• Quality assurance of Formal and Closing Reports and notices in terms of section 7(9) of the PP Act.
• Assistance to the African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA) and the AOMA Research Centre (AORC) on memoranda of understanding with UKZN, and AU Committee, as well as submissions to DIRCO on strategic planning and funding proposals for the operation of AORC through AOMA members in Africa

· Currently involved in the following major ad hoc projects:

• Development and Implementation of new electronic case management system
• Amendment and Roll out of Public Protector Rules
• · Review of Investigation Handbook, including investigation standards and Standard operating procedures
• Development and implementation of PPSA Mobile application
• · Development and adoption of Knowledge Management Strategy