New public protector 'must restore dignity' after Mkhwebane disaster: Outa'

The removal of advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the head of the public protector’s office for incompetence damaged the office’s reputation and her replacement will have to work hard to restore the public’s trust and deal with concerns about political interference. 

These were the sentiments of the civil rights group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa's) executive director Stefanie Fick, who spoke to TimesLIVE about Mkhwebane’s removal from office this week. A new public protector is expected to be appointed next month.

Fick said whoever takes over has the tough task of uniting the staff and regaining the public’s trust. Fick said trouble at the office during and after Mkhwebane’s turbulent tenure created leeway for political parties to develop strong opinions about the office and, in a way, affect its independence.

“The problem is not only getting the public’s trust back but also working on the atmosphere in the office. The quality of work comes from the entire office and, unfortunately, the next incumbent will have a tough time getting people together again,” she said. 

During the section 194 inquiry which probed Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office, her staff had differing views. Some described her as a workplace bully but others said she was merely strict and just wanted people to do their jobs.

Mkhwebane was accused of being politically influenced by former president Jacob Zuma and the acting public protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, has suffered the same accusations, as she is accused of being biased in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa, after the publishing of the Phala Phala scandal report.

Fick said though Gcaleka might be a good candidate with years of experience in the institution, the political cloud over her head might be disadvantageous to restoring the office’s reputation.

“I do think Gcaleka is a good candidate and there are some good points as to why she should be considered as the next public protector. That there is some political history and a bit of a cloud hanging over her is concerning. I ask myself, though she is a good candidate is she the best? I don’t think so,” Fick said.

Fick said growing noise from politicians about the appointment of the next public protector so close to elections was concerning. The Sunday Times reported that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had instructed the party's MPs to vote for Gcaleka as the next public protector. 

Fick suggested that starting the appointment process might be ideal but time was not on parliament's side.

“I think in general that if you have the right incumbent, who does what they are supposed to do in terms of the constitution, gets investigations back on track and stands up to political interference then they can turn the ship around,” she said.

Outa and another civil rights organisation, Accountability Now, said parliament made the right decision by ousting Mkhwebane.   

Accountability Now director Paul Hoffman said the organisation started reporting Mkhwebane for misconduct to parliament's justice portfolio committee as early as 2017, just months after her appointment. 

“She was running the office in a way that suggested her competence was not up to the standard required of a chapter 9 institution, which has constitutionally guaranteed independence. She was not behaving in an independent way.

“She was more or less behaving as an extension of the RET faction of the ANC, which is what got her into trouble with the Reserve Bank and Absa,” Hoffman said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.   

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