PHUTI MOSOMANE
The Chairperson of the Committee for Section 194 Enquiry Qubudile Dyantyi said on Monday he is sticking to a revised schedule and only allows for written questions instead of oral presentations regarding the impeachment process of suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
Dyantyi said now that Mkhwebane has allocated the funds and access to an instructing attorney to brief her counsel, the work continues.
He said Mkhwebane was provided with written questions to respond to, as per the timetable of steps previously communicated to her.
“Whilst all members were invited to submit questions, not all members availed themselves of the opportunity to do so. Written questions by Members of the committee, who wished to do so, were due by 21 June 2023. The deadline for evidence leaders to provide questions was yesterday, which they met,” Dyantyi said.
In a detailed statement, he said the committee received questions from 12 members from five political parties represented in the committee.
These questions were about both Part A and Part B of Adv Mkhwebane’s statement to the committee about the charges in the motion.
These questions, together with those from evidence leaders, were sent to Adv Mkhwebane’s legal team, Chaane Attorneys on Sunday night.
He said the secretariat and evidence leaders will make themselves available to assist Mkhwebane and her team to locate any record she may require for the purpose of responding.
“There has been and remains no denial of access to legal assistance, There is therefore no impediment preventing the answering of the written questions,” he added.
However, Mkhwebane’s counsel has not yet been briefed by Chaane Attorneys.
Chaane Attorneys indicated that they will not do so until they have familiarised themselves with the record and the issue of who will bear any costs that may be incurred beyond the further R4 million that has been allocated to the Public Protector.
In what seems to be a cost saving strategy, Dyantyi said Mkhwebane’s legal representatives cannot answer questions on the Public Protector’s behalf and the subject matter of the motion lies within her personal knowledge. Accordingly, the role of counsel will be more limited (and that of the attorney even more so) than one would expect in an oral hearing.
Dyantyi said that Adv Mkhwebane is required to respond in writing to the questions by no later than 6 July 2023.
“As previously indicated, if she does not respond to the questions, the committee reserves the right to continue with its remaining programme.”
Parliament’s ethics committee is investigating allegations that Dyantyi, ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina and the late Tina Joemat-Pettersson attempted to extort money from Mkhwebane to ensure that the Section 194 Inquiry outcomes are in her favour.
Mkhwabane said she wants Dyantyi removed from chairing the section 194 Committee, pending the outcomes of the criminal and parliamentary investigations or that “the section 194 Committee be terminated with immediate effect as it now irretrievably and incurably tainted, poisoned and clearly driven by a predetermined outcome.”
“The inquiry is therefore a deliberate waste of taxpayers money which can never withstand any proper legal scrutiny,” she said.
Mkhwebane has disputed the revised schedule and has accused Dyantyi of rushing the inquiry before her term ended.
The committee is expected to finalise its work on 28 July 2023.
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