Public Protector suffers cost liability blow
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has indicated that she will approach the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein to have the judgement set aside compelling her to personally pay for costs arising from the Bankorp report.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed an application by Mkhwebane for leave to appeal last month's order that she personally pay 15% of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) legal costs for her CIEX report.
Mkhwebane probed an apartheid-era bailout to Absa's predecessor Bankorp and found the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) failed in its obligation to recover the monies and ordered the bank to pay back the money.
She was however criticised for suggesting that the Reserve Bank's mandate be changed.
The court disagreed and after a long legal battle ordered Mkhwebane to pay 85% of the SARB's legal costs in her official capacity and 15% in her personal capacity.
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After failing to prove adequate reasons for her application, the court on Wednesday ruled that "no reasonable prospect that another court will come to a different conclusion."
The only option left for Mkhwebane is to directly petition the Bloemfontein court for an appeal.
"She is disappointed with the judgement but we do not believe that this is the end of the road. Accordingly the public protector intends to petition the SCA because she strongly believes that given a chance, a superior court could arrive at a different conclusion," says her spokesperson Oupa Segalwe.
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According to Segalwe the judgement will have detrimental effects on the Office of the Public Protector.
"It will have the effect of a sword hanging over her head each time she must make a difficult decision such as taking appropriate remedial action."