News24
12 Dec 2019, 23:40 GMT+10
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has reflected on the work her office has done this past year, saying it received positive feedback from the Auditor General and that much of the backlog in the office is clear. However, the personal costs order which the Constitutional Court granted against her was a low point, she said.
"The lowlight was, for me [was] the Constitutional Court judgment on personal costs. While we respect the courts and their decisions, it remains my considered view that that decision is a threat to the independence of this office," she said.
She added that it set a "wrong precedent" and impacted negatively on the office and her work.
"We hope for a better experience in 2020," Mkhwebane said.
Mkhwebane was speaking at a media briefing on Thursday where she released two dozen reports to clear a backlog of older cases in the office.
Clearing of the backlog
She detailed a successful performance for the year, especially the clearing of the backlog.
"Seventy-seven percent of cases older than two years were finalised and, all in all, just under 10 000 out of a caseload of 14 000 were finalised," she said.
Still on her books is the reinstated Vrede dairy farm investigation, as well as the probe into VBS Mutual Bank, SARS, the SA Reserve Bank and Free State government website, and Medupi and Khusile power stations.
Mkhwebane said these investigations were at advanced stages but had not yet been completed.
"I must indicate that a number of the frequently-asked-about investigations are at an advanced stage and reports in some of these cases are imminent.
"The matters in question include the Vrede Integrated Dairy Project and the VBS Mutual Bank matter," Mkhwebane said.
She added: "There is also a pending investigation on the role of the South African Reserve Bank in the whole VBS saga.
"We are experiencing challenges with this one because the bank seems to believe that we do not have jurisdiction over it. They seem to have misinterpreted the Constitutional Court judgment on personal costs," she said.
Matters involving SARS, the departure of Jonas Makwakwa from SARS, the Kusile and Medupi power stations, Independent Power Producers, the Giyani Water Project and the alleged irregular procurement of services by SARS from BB&D were still in progress, she said.
Mkhwebane began her reports with investigations in which it was concluded that the complaints were unsubstantiated.
These include allegations that former National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete received a bribe in the form of share allocations amounting to R25m in Invictus Gold Limited, " as well as the role the Department of Mineral Resources played in the 2010 Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment concluded with Gold Fields Limited".
Complaints regarding the breach of the Executive Code of Ethics by former minister of communications Faith Muthambi, relating to the SABC inquiry, as well as irregular appointments by former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega were also found to be unsubstantiated.
Further, allegations that former Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba abused his power and allegations of fruitless and wasteful expenditure against the City of Johannesburg were unsubstantiated.
Matters which the Public Protector found to be substantiated included pension matters involving the Department of Correctional Services, maladministration in the Mpumalanga Department of Education, RDP housing matters, human resource matters regarding the Independent Development Trust and home affairs matters.
"The findings and remedies in these reports are not about the Public Protector but rather a way of bringing justice to complainants while also plugging the gaps we see in state institutions' governance systems so as to avoid recurrence," Mkhwebane said.
Get a daily dose of Beijing Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Beijing Bulletin.
More InformationPALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Grammarly is doubling down on AI-powered productivity tools with the acquisition of Superhuman, a sleek...
SANTA CLARA, California: Executives at Nvidia have quietly been cashing in on the AI frenzy. According to a report by the Financial...
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 5 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, during an interactive session with...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...