Drum – 08 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za1 AUGUST (^2019) | 13
Thepublicprotectorappearstobe
“politicallyselectivewiththecasesshe
hasinvestigated,”politicalanalystDaniel
Silkesays.
“Theproblemisthatseemingly[she]wants
toinvestigatemattersthatwouldharm
PresidentCyrilRamaphosa.”
Andwhiletherehavebeeninvestigations
intopublicenterprisesministerPravin
GordhanandRamaphosa’sactivities,“there
hasnotbeenthesamerigorousquestioning
appliedtothosewhomaybeimplicatedin
statecapture”,headds.
“Thistypeofapparentlyone-sided
selectionofcasesisclearlycausingmany
SouthAfricanstofeelshe’sservingthe
interestofoneorotherfactionwithinthe
ANC.”
Thereseemstobea bodyofevidence
buildingupagainsther,headds.“I wouldsay
thefinalstrawwillbeonissuesrelatingto
GALLO Gordhanandthepresident.”
IMAGES/NETWERK24/FELIX
DLANGAMANDLA,
GALLO
IMAGES/BUSINESS
DAY/FREDDY
MAVUNDA,
GCIS
The DA and the EFF teamed uptoclaimthe
president deliberately misled parliament about
a R500 000 donation to his ANC presidential
election campaign in 2017 from controversial
Bosasa boss Gavin Watson.
Ramaphosa at first said it had been
deposited into the account of a foundation run
by his son, Andile, for services rendered.
The president later retracted this and
acknowledged the money had been paid to
his campaignwithouthisknowledge.
An officialcomplaintwaslodged by DA
l d MmusiMaimaneand
deputypresident
oydShivambu.
speaker
to theJo
Interest
donatio
campaig
Shein
Authorit
moneyl
back,sa
“fundam
flawed”,
inaccura
issuesoutsidethemandate of her office.
He is applying to the high court in Pretoria to
review the report, its findings and remedial
action.
EXPERTS SAY
Whether Mkhwebane was within her rights or
not to probe this issue, she has raised an issue
of campaign finance that will have to be
addressed, analyst Daniel Silke says.
“And even if the courts rule against her, the
issues regarding who finances political
candidatesisvital.WhateverthePP’s future,
thatissuewillhopefullynowbean important
partofgreatertransparency.”
ThenewSarscommissione
inMkhwebane’ssights.She
investigatingtheprocesso
hisappointmentafter
anonymouscomplaints.
InMarch,theEFFsaid
itwasunhappywithKies-
wetter’sappointment.
Itaccusedformerfinance
ministerTrevorManuel,wh
chairedtheselectionpane
ofinfluencingtheappointmentbecause
theyhadpreviouslyworkedtogetherand
wererelated.
Manueldeniedthisandsuccessfullysued
e EFFfordefamationtotheamountof
500 000.
ThePublicServantsAssociationof
outhAfricadescribedherinvestigation
“hypocriticalanda ploytoderailefforts
y Sarstorestoreitscredibilityandregain
xpayers’confidence”.
Theinvestigationisongoing.
XPERTSSAY
athekgaquestionswhythecomplainants
anttobeanonymous.“Isitbecausethe
FFdoesnotwanttobeknownasa complai-
nt,becausetheyarea complainantinthe
seinvolvingtherogueunit?”
Mkhwebane’srefusaltonamethecomp-
nantsmightalsoindicatethatsheis
oncernedabouttheviewthatsheappears
o enthusiastictoentertaincomplaints
omthelikesoftheEFF”.
In2017,Mkhwebanefoundthestate’sSpecial
InvestigatingUnitneededtorecoupan“illegal”
R1,125-billion“lifeboat”givenbytheReserve
BanktoAbsa’spredecessor,Bankorp,during
apartheid.
Thisrecommendationwassetasidebythe
highcourtinPretoriain 2018 afteranappeal
bytheReserveBank.Mkhwebanewasordered
topersonallypay15%ofthecostsofthe
ReserveBank’sappeal– someR900000.
Mkhwebaneturnedtotheconstitutional
courttosetasidethatjudgement– whichalso
foundshewasbiasedanddidnotfullyunder-
standherconstitutionaldutytobeimpartial.
TheReserveBankinturnaskedthecourtto
declarethatthepublicprotectorabusedher
officeintheAbsainvestigation.
Theconstitutionalcourtlastmonthupheld
thehighcourtrulingandMkhwebaneremains
liabletopaythecosts.
EXPERTSSAY
ConstitutionallawexpertProfessorPierrede
Vosfindsit“shocking”thatMkhwebanedidnot
resignafterthisruling.
“Thecourtshavefoundshe’sdishonest,that
she’sincompetent,hasactedinbadfaithand
thatshe’snotimpartial.
“I don’tknowhowyoucancrediblygoonif
thehighestcourtinthecountrysaysyou’renot
onlyincapableofdoingyourjob,butyou’realso
dishonest.”
PP VS THE PRESIDENT PP VSEDWARDKIESWETTER
erisalso
e’s
of
ho
l,
‘Thecourtshavefoundshe’sdishonest,
thatshe’sincompetent,hasactedinbadfaith
andthatshe’snotimpartial’
PPVSTHERESERVEBANK
leaderMm
EFFd
Flo
POLITICALLY SELECTIVE?
EXTRA SOURCES: TIMESLIVE, BDLIVE, SOWETANLIVE, DAILYMAVERICK.CO.ZA, CITIZEN.CO.ZA, NYTIMES.COM, BBC.COM, NEWS24.COM
oydShivambu.
THEPPFINDING
Mkhwebanefound
Ramaphosa
eliberatelymisled
rliamentandviolated
xecutiveEthicsCode.
Sheinstructednationalassembly
rThandiModisetoreferthepresident
ointCommitteeonEthicsandMembers’
ts andtodemandthepublicationof all
nsRamaphosareceivedforhis
gn.
nstructedtheNationalProsecuting
ty toinvestigate“apotentialcase of
aundering”.Ramaphosahit
yingthereportwas
mentallyandirretrievably
had“numerousfactual
acies” and made findings on
partofgreatertransparency.
th
R
So
as
by
tax
EX
Ma
wa
EF
na
ca
lai
“co
to
fro
Flo
T
M
R
de
par
theEx
Sh i t
NEWS