MPs have again raised concerns about delays in concluding the work of the section 194 committee established to inquire into suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

The inquiry has not had hearings in two months mainly due to Mkhwebane’s legal assistance funding by the state drying up.

Even after the public protector office made funds available four weeks ago, the hearings could not continue as new legal representation for Mkhwebane had to be appointed.

At Thursday's meeting of the National Assembly programme committee, speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, for the second time in less than a month, criticised the delays and expressed concern about the escalating legal bill for the process.

Mapisa-Nqakula was reacting to a report by a parliamentary official that the committee will meet on June 2 to revise its programme.

She questioned how it was possible for the committee to “still be rearranging its programme” when it was supposed to finish its work at the end of April and later extended it to the end of May.

“Now it’s seems as if people keep on pushing this. I want to remind all of us that as we push it further the biggest challenge we have is financial resources to fund this inquiry,” she said.

“I don’t know any more what this committee seeks to do or to achieve by keeping on pushing this matter.

Last month Mapisa-Nqakula requested, through Cedric Frolick, the house chair responsible for committees, she be furnished with a status report on the work of the inquiry.

She said the National Assembly which decided to appoint the inquiry needs to know how far the process is, how many outstanding witnesses there are and what the implications of all that are so it can make informed decisions.

“Obviously none of us want the process to collapse, at least give us a sense of where you are going. There is only R4m made available for the conclusion of this inquiry,” she said.

In May Mapisa-Nqakula warned the process might have to be abandoned if it was not wrapped up by the end of the month due to financial constraints.

Frolick confirmed requesting the status report but said there had been no response from inquiry chair Richard Dyantyi.

He agreed the committee has gone beyond its expected span.

ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina supported the speaker saying “we cannot have a committee that is perpetually extending its mandate”.

Notwithstanding the financial implications, Majodina was also concerned that MPs serving in the inquiry are needed to do other work in other committees. 

“This has been very strenuous exercise of all members that are serving in that committee.

“We cannot sustain this any further now as parliament and I fully agree with you that we must draw a line in the sand that we are ending here now as parliament because if we keep on, this will just collapse — and how do we account to the public that so many millions have been used and there is no outcome? We need an outcome of that,” she said.

MPs from other parties agreed, with the EFF blaming Dyantyi for the delays.

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