Mkhwebane labels Ramaphosa ‘inconsistent’
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has questioned what she believed to be President Cyril Ramaphosa's inconsistencies in applying her remedial actions.
Mkhwebane made the remarks during an address to students at the Tshwane University of Technology in Soshanguve on Thursday.
Mkhwebane said early in her term in office she had made adverse findings against former ministers Lynne Brown and Des van Rooyen for a breach of the executive code of ethics.
She directed Ramaphosa to take action against them and he relieved both of their duties.
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"I have letters from the director-general in the Presidency, Dr Cassius Lubisi, in which he confirms that the two were dismissed from the Cabinet on the basis of my findings."
However, the president did not do the same when she made findings against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
"This year I issued a report in which I found that Minister of Public Enterprises had breached the executive code by misleading the National Assembly with regard to whether he had met the members of the Gupta family. I also found out that he had acted improperly in the establishment o the rogue unit.
"In the remedial, I directed the president to take action against the minister and, as usual, I did not prescribe what nature of action should be taken. Like the others."
Mkhwebane told the students she was astonished when she was accused of hindering Gordhan’s chances of becoming a minister again.
She added that when Van Rooyen took her findings on review, that did not stop Ramaphosa from taking action against him.
"In another case, we are told no action was being taken because the affected party had approached the courts for a review. Again I ask, where is the consistency?"