FF Plus will request that investigation into Mkhwebane’s competence as Public Protector (PP) be expedited
7 July 2019
The Public Protector (PP), Busisiwe Mkhwebane, is supposed to instil confidence in the public because the office is seen as an institution that the public can approach if there is a suspicion that tax money is being misappropriated.
The current PP, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, does not instil this confidence and sometimes one gets the impression that her office may be misused for the sake of internal faction fights within the ANC, thus, the FF Plus is going to request that the parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Justice's investigation into her competence must be expedited.
The fact that Mkhwebane is continuously issuing statements about the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and seems to be hunting Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, creates the impression that she is not truly objective and that she might be fed false information by certain elements in security circles.
Concerning the so-called “rogue unit”, a high-risk investigative unit that was established under Gordhan at SARS with the aim of doing certain specialist investigations, Judge Robert Nugent last year found with his investigation into the matter that the unit is being run legally.
This was confirmed by the former PP, adv Thuli Madonsela, The Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority that launched an investigation into the matter on recommendation of Madonsela, but was unable to identify any irregularities with the establishment or the operations of the unit.
It is against this backdrop that the question of whether Mkhwebane is qualified for her position is raised.
Her claim that steps must be taken against people, like Gordhan, who are accused of malpractice in her report, even though it was requested that her findings must first be reviewed, is a clear indication of her ignorance.
Any person with basic knowledge about legal matters surely knows that no action can be taken based on a finding if the case is under review.
The FF Plus finds it unacceptable that tax money is squandered in this way on internal faction fights within the ANC and the party will do everything in its power to put an end to it.
Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 7 July 2019
