Parliament committee recommends Busisiwe Mkhwebane for Public Protector

30 August 2016 - 17:37 By REUTERS

A parliament committee on Tuesday adopted a report recommending lawyer Busisiwe Mkhwebane to replace outgoing Thuli Madonsela as Public Protector.The committee's recommendation will go to a vote in parliament on Sept. 7 that requires 60 percent approval, the office of the Chief Whip of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said in a statement. It will then be sent to President Jacob Zuma for assent.Is Busi the new Thuli?The ANC yesterday switched its support of Judge Siraj Desai to take over as public protector, recommending Busisiwe Mkhwebane instead. Mkhwebane is a high-level civil servant and former diplomat, positions typically held by those with solid ANC connections.Corruption Watch, a local NGO that focuses on graft issues, applauded the committee's recommendation, saying it was satisfied "that the final candidate got the job on merit and not for any other reason".Among Mkhwebane's past achievements, Corruption Watch noted she had set up a Public Protector's office for Gauteng.Mkhwebane nominated as Public Protector candidateParliament's ad hoc committee to nominate a candidate for Public Protector has chosen Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the final nominee in the race to succeed Thuli Madonsela at the chapter nine institution in October.  Madonsela, who steps down in October when her seven-year term expires, has become a household name in South Africa. Her probes have cast Zuma and other powerful figures in an unflattering light, contributing to the ANC's poor showing in local elections in early August.In 2014, Madonsela found Zuma had included in a state-funded R246-million "security upgrade" to his rural Nkandla home such items as a swimming pool and amphitheatre.She said Zuma should pay back a portion of the cost of those items. In March, the Constitutional Court said Zuma had broken the law by ignoring Madonsela's order.‘Guptas fleeing doesn’t rid SA of their destructive influence’: MaimaneA plan to divest their local business interests does not absolve the Gupta family from an “ongoing investigation into state capture in South Africa”‚ Mmusi Maimane said on Monday. The Public Protector has a constitutional mandate to probe misconduct in state affairs. Madonsela's replacement may inherit current probes, including one into whether Zuma allowed a business family, the Guptas, to decide on cabinet appointments.Zuma and the Guptas have denied the accusations. The Guptas announced on Saturday they would sell all their stakes in South African businesses...

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