D-Day: parliament to decide on Mkhwebane, Gcaleka on September 11

September 11 is the day the National Assembly (NA) will decide on whether to remove suspended public protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the appointment of her successor. 

The NA programming committee decided both matters should be dealt with in a physical sitting at the Cape Town City Hall. 

Parliament will use the roll-call voting system to decide both matters. The procedure requires each MP to answer with a “yes” or “no” when called upon. 

A section 194 committee, which inquired into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office, recommended earlier this month that she be removed from office after it found her to be incompetent and that she displayed misconduct in some of her investigations. 

The removal of a public protector requires a supporting vote of at least two-thirds (267) of  MPs.

The threshold for appointing a new public protector is lower as the constitution prescribes at least a 60% (240) supporting vote. This week, deputy public protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka was chosen by the ad hoc committee established to find a suitable candidate as the preferred candidate. 

“We’ve looked at the programme of parliament and the availability of the city hall. The city hall is available on the 11th, which is a constituency day, but we agreed at the chief whips forum to use the 11th, a Monday,” said ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina on Thursday. 

“If we don’t [vote] in September, it might take us up to November, something we don’t want, to prolong these two matters,” she said. 

Mondays are usually reserved for constituency work while plenary sessions are normally held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

Majodina said they want to deal with both matters on the same day because it’s difficult to secure venues for in-person sittings. 

The house rarely holds 100% physical sittings since the building which houses its chamber was gutted by fire in January last year.

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