The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to finalise the investigation and report on the controversial Estina Dairy Farm in Vrede, in the Free State.
The call comes after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Mkhwebane’s application to appeal the 2019 Pretoria High Court judgment against her.
The case relates to the R350 million Gupta-linked Dairy Project investigation report. The DA had argued Mkhwebane’s continuous legal attempts to prevent further probe and findings had raised questions about her motives and her ability to take objective decisions in this regard.
The SCA has ordered Mkhwebane to pay some of the legal costs as the matter had no reasonable prospect of success.
In the video below, DA calls on Public Protector to finalise Estina Dairy report
The DA and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) had initially taken the Public Protector’s report to court.
DA Spokesperson Shelton Mollentze says the party is glad the Vrede Dairy farmers will have some relief.
“So the Democratic Alliance are now happy and relieved that eventually the Public Protector’s report will be finalised and we hoped that the beneficiaries of the Vrede Dairy project will receive 51% shares. That they were allocated and justice will be found for the beneficiaries in the project.”
