Nkosikhulule Nyembezi
Cape Town - It is that Parliament’s Section 194 committee inquiry into Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness for office may never get an opportunity to hear the full evidence that should provide an unchallenged basis for any satisfactory conclusion to the case.
Mkhwebane had been expected to continue giving evidence in her defence, but informed the committee last week she was unwell and her doctor had advised her to stay home until today. She is facing questioning from advocate Nazreen Bawa, the inquiry evidence leader.
But the possibility of an eventual conclusion grew somewhat urgent with the Office of the Public Protector of SA (PPSA) quickly running out of litigation funds and confirming it would stop Mkhwebane’s funding on March 31.
The PPSA has reportedly paid more than R24 million for Mkhwebane’s inquiry litigation, and the Justice Department has now asked the National Treasury to pick up the cost.
The inadequate allocation of funds is close to being a disaster for a country facing a confidence deficit in public institutions.
Mkhwebane has been a public protector during unprecedented friction between various factions in the ANC.
So far, more than 20 witnesses have delivered shocking testimony to the inquiry of how the State Security Agency (SSA) – heavily implicated in the High-Level Review Panel and the State Capture Report – got involved with Mkhwebane’s office, including Arthur Fraser, its former director-general.
There are mounting accusations of the SSA running an illegal parallel agency with access to unlimited public funds to bolster former president Jacob Zuma’s personal and political power.
Ultimately, that is one of the big reasons why the successful conclusion of this inquiry matters so much.
Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi has a point in being concerned that the cutting of Mkhwebane’s legal funding represents a clear risk to the committee being able to complete its work by May.
Most ANC MPs probably woke up recently hoping they could find a way of sparing the party from further exposure as an enabler of the abuse of power. But after the credible evidence of several witnesses before the committee, they will have gone to bed less confident about that.
The ANC has already proved that it is no longer any part of the solution to the country’s corruption woes. Instead, and more clearly than ever, it is part of the problem.
While not explicitly detailed by MPs or the chairperson, it was apparent they believed this risk lay in Mkhwebane litigating over her lack of funding, or contending that she was unable to participate in the inquiry process without legal representation.
Parliament cannot succeed alone, however, and it needs more support, including but not limited to, greater financial backing.
Most importantly, not delaying any additional funding allocation at this critical stage may weigh positively in the public’s minds and decision-makers expected to implement the inquiry recommendations in the coming months.
Adopting this pragmatic course of co-operation with the Section 194 committee process without full financial support would be an imperfect solution.
But all support possible must be enlisted for an institution that is doing essential work.
This country is too far gone for any lingering narrow political squeamishness to be permissible. The issues surrounding the inquiry are too important, and the dangers of ignoring them at the expense of being thrifty too great. As the inquiry advances, what matters is that it must drive a stake through the beast’s heart.
And, to a quite surprising degree, it will do so.
Nyembezi is a researcher, analyst and human rights activist
Cape Times
* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.