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Restorative Justice Centre cleared of allegations of misconduct

22 Oct 2012

The Restorative Justice Centre (RJC) has been cleared of all allegations of misconduct by an arbitrator, following a decision by the Department of Social Development (DSD) to suspend government funding to the organisation on the basis of an erroneous report. The DSD's suspension of funding resulted in the organisation being forced to terminate its services.

The ruling is a significant one as it highlights the need for NPO's to maintain excellence in both financial- and service-delivery practice. It also illustrates the commitment of DSD to be responsible custodians of public funds. Regrettably, it also highlights the vulnerability of civil society organisations when unfounded allegations are laid against them.

Hope to re-employ staff

The ruling follows months of allegations and investigations that led to the cancellation by DSD of its agreement with the RJC, in effect terminating the services rendered by the RJC. The RJC trusts that the DSD will abide by the ruling and restore the now ratified agreement. "We are hoping to re-employ most of our staff members within the coming weeks. We hope that service delivery at the courts, compromised due to the sudden termination of services at the end of August, will resume shortly," Mike Batley, CEO of the RJC said.

Apart from the aspects that RJC itself acknowledged required attention, all the allegations made against the RJC in the erroneous, non-factual report by a consultant from the Centre for Social Impact were found to be untrue. DSD's own investigation confirmed the validity of RJC's services and sound financial management.

Robust internal governance

"The whole situation has been a valuable learning experience for the RJC. It has highlighted the critical need for robust internal governance, and that entities using public funds need to be able to withstand scrutiny. The exercise has also brought to the fore the essential part that government departments, in this case DSD, need to play in providing oversight and support, and the need for it to nurture the capacity of its officials in responding impartially, professionally and constructively. The need for a justice system that is competent and able to act with integrity has also been emphasised," Batley said.

Over the past 12 years, the RJC has assisted over 4 000 victims of crime and abuse as well as over 12 000 child and adult offenders by implementing our various programmes. Together with other beneficiaries such as family members we have reached over 25 000 people since inception.