Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan will appear before Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Wednesday morning.
His appearance relates to allegations that when Gordhan was the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, he irregularly approved senior official Ivan Pillay’s retirement, bought off his pension balance and later allowed him to be re-employed by SARS in 2010.
Gordhan’s attorney, Tebogo Malatji, said earlier that a letter from Mkhwebane re-iterated the same allegations that were the subject of a criminal investigation and charges by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) last year.
The Public Protector’s Acting Spokesperson Oupa Segalwe says they are looking forward to the meeting with Gordhan.
“From our side as the Public Protector, we expect nothing but full co-operation from ministers such as Minister Gordhan whenever we are investigating allegations of wrongdoing against them. In fact, the Constitution provides that people such as Minister Gordhan should assist and protect institutions such as the Public Protector…” says Segalwe.
