ONE of the biggest battles to be fought in the Pretoria High Court is set to begin on Wednesday pitting the public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan against Busisiwe Mkhwebane over a report by the public protector which found the veteran ANC struggle stalwart had acted improperly in approving an early pension payout for former SA Revenue Services senior official Ivan Pillay.
Gordhan wants the court to review and set aside Mkhwebane’s report because he believes that Mkhwebane’s findings that he breached the executive ethics code were without evidence.
In a new twist this week, Mkhwebane demanded that Gordhan face jail time for accusing her of incompetence and for saying she is unfit to hold the position of public protector.
Lawyers representing Mkhwebane are set to argue that Gordhan is holding the public protector in contempt by calling her ‘incompetent’ and ‘politically motivated’.
“Contempt of the Public Protector is similar to contempt of court. To fully appreciate the seriousness of the minister’s conduct in this regard, one must imagine a situation where a minister accuses a sitting judge of corruption and being motivated by politics,” said Mkhwebane on Tuesday.
The hearing is set down for three days, beginning on Wednesday this morning.
In her report, Mkhwebane recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa should take disciplinary action against Gordhan for “violating the Constitution” when he used public funds to approve Pillay’s early retirement.
Mkhwebane described the payment as irregular and that Pillay was not entitled to an early retirement payout.
Mkhwebane also found that Gordhan violated the Constitution by establishing the SARS Rogue Unit.
In response, Gordhan applied for an urgent interdict against Mkhwebane.
Mkhwebane’s lawyers will on Wednesday ask the high court in Pretoria to declare that Gordhan had committed “criminal contempt”, under the provisions of the Public Protector Act, by “insulting” her in his application to challenge her report on Pillay’s early retirement.
Gordhan will ask the court on Wednesday to review and set aside Mkhwebane’s report which found he was complicit in the establishment of the SARS Rogue Unit and that he misled Parliament when he said he did not meet with members of the Gupta family.
(COMPILED BY INSIDE POLITICS STAFF)
