Cape Town - Parliament’s enquiry into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office has been given an ultimatum to either meet its deadline for the end of this month or abandon the process as there was no more money left in the pot.
The Section 194 Committee which is meant to resume this morning, was paused a week ago to enable Mkhwebane to obtain legal representation after the announcement the previous week that the Office of the Public Protector (PPSA) had secured R4 million to fund Mkhwebane’s legal team.
Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said that it was do or die for the committee and said if it did not complete its work by the end of this month there would be no money left to continue funding the process.
Members of Parliament’s programme committee led by Mapisa-Nqakula were discussing the House business for the rest of the parliamentary term which ends in mid-June.
During the listing of House business until the second term, there was mention that the committee had requested an extension.
Mapisa-Nqakula said: “If we are to stop this whole process midway before we’ve completed it, there will be an audit finding against Parliament. Equally there will be an audit finding against the PPSA.
“But the people who will bear the brunt of the criticism will be Parliament, as though it is our problem.
“It’s not our problem. It cannot be our problem. If there is a hearing, then the appropriate office where the person is being charged must take the responsibility.”
Corné Mulder (Freedom Front Plus) who sits on both committees said Parliament was paying Rolls-Royce prices for a Volkswagen and said Mkhwebane should consult Legal Aid “like ordinary people” instead of looking for the most expensive lawyers.
Mulder said he had predicted from the very first day of the inquiry that there was a strategy to delay at play and said what was needed was a deadline.
“Nothing focuses the mind like a deadline. So we should set a deadline and allow that committee to finish but it can’t continue to drag out like this and it's not an option to let the case fall or to let the public protector just walk away. We can't do that.”
Annelie Lotriet (DA), who also sits on both the programming and the section 194 committees, said allowing the inquiry to collapse would be fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Lotriet said that the court ruling that the public protector was entitled to legal counsel or representation did not not imply she had to get the most expensive legal services that could be found.
“Even though I am a member of that committee, I propose that Parliament must now decide this is it. Finish the process and come to a conclusion.”
IFP chief whip Narend Singh suggested that Parliament’s legal adviser approach the Constitutional Court for an urgent declarator about what to do.
