National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise has sent out invitation letters to three persons she intends to appoint on the panel to conduct a preliminary assessment about whether there is prima facie evidence that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has committed misconduct and is incompetent.
In the letters, Modise is requesting their availability. She’s also asking them to indicate if they will be able to carry out their work under the COVID-19 restrictions.
Parliament says their names will be announced once the process of appointment is concluded.
Depending on their responses, Modise will make the appointments or take other steps and appoint other persons to the Panel.
DA’s bid to remove Mkhwebane
The move follows Parliament’s approval of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) submitted motion, proposing the National Assembly initiate a process aimed at removing Mkhwebane.
The DA called for the removal of Mkhwebane after the High Court in Pretoria declared her Vrede Dairy farm report unconstitutional and invalid. She had also overstepped her authority when finding that the Reserve Bank mandate should be revised.
At the time, DA Interim Leader, John Steenhuisen argued that this shows that Mkhwebane was incompetent and did not understand the role of her office.
In her response to the Justice Committee of Parliament, Mkhwebane had stated that none of the DA’s complaints can justify her removal.
Steenhuisen says their latest complaint to the Speaker also included new information currently in the public domain; such as a press release by the Public Servants Association (PSA), alleging that Mkhwebane’s office was making use of the State Security Agency to victimise and harass PSA shop stewards.
In the video below, Mkhwebane says rules to remove her are unconstitutional: