The chairman of the parliamentary inquiry into Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to serve, Kubudile Dyanti, has pledged to respond to her resignation letter in two weeks.
Mkhwebane’s lawyer Dali Mpofu filed a statement on Wednesday, citing 12 grounds for his plea.
During a heated meeting on Friday, most MPs said the application should be rejected outright as they said it had no merit.
However, Dzantiy noted that it is important for him to give a comprehensive answer.
The committee was originally supposed to complete its work by the end of this month. However, at the rate things are moving, it might even carry over into the new year.
Some members expressed their disappointment at this turn of events, while others placed the blame on Mkhwebana and her legal team. Thus, the filing of a recusal is viewed by some in this light.
“The program is far behind schedule, Chairman, far behind. A few weeks ago it was already the longest committee hearing in the history of Parliament, as Hon Mulder said. And it is not in vain for the residents of SA. Every minute lost means additional costs, (it) means a house that is not yet built, and all the things we deal with every day as community representatives on the ground where we are faced with service delivery challenges due to budget cuts. So one of the main reasons for this delay is the impression from the PP legal team that they are there to cross-examine witnesses in the same way they do in an SA court,” says ACDP’s Marie Sukers.
The ANC’s Doris Dlakude agreed with those who believe the application should be rejected.
“I want to agree that we reject this application because what is reflected in this application as a statement made some time ago in another committee where we were not even present is reflected in this application without even giving us the context , in which this statement was made, about why it was made. We can’t allow an application based on material we don’t know about,” says Dlakude.
The EFF is one of the parties that has so far made clear its support for the Public Protector.
MP Omphile Maotwe called on the Speaker to resign for the sake of progress.
“The last point made in the PP submission should guide us, Chairman. The fact that there are reasonable grounds, at least on one hand, whether we like it or not, to say that they are being treated unfairly. So they put it on the table. We can disagree, that’s okay. But the fact that such a basis exists, we must accept it and allow this committee to continue with another chairman. Chairman, you have nothing to lose by refusing. Either way, you will prove to this committee that the mandate of the committee is more important, regardless of who is the chairman,” explains Maotwe.
While most members of the committee believed the application should be rejected, Dzantiy said it was important for him to provide a comprehensive answer.
“It is necessary to answer each of the 12 grounds in detail, paragraph by paragraph, very thoroughly. And if we need to react to those commas and dots that are there, then this is exactly what we will have to do,” said Dzyantii.
