Her first order of business will be to plug leaks to the press, swing focus onto service delivery complaints — and have a talk with the DA about its spying allegation, new public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane tells Thabo Mokone But Shirley Maboane, a senior administration officer in Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Jeff Radebe's office, was serious.She went ahead with her nomination and this week President Jacob Zuma confirmed Mkhwebane as the new public protector.Mkhwebane's nomination by a public servant in Radebe's office, which is located within the Presidency at the Union Buildings, has caused consternation among observers who fear this may mean she will be soft on the executive .The a dvocate, who was born in Bethal in Mpumalanga and raised in Hammanskraal, Tshwane, dismisses the concerns , saying she knew Maboane when the latter served under her as an intern at the Department of Home Affairs a few years ago.story_article_left1"She's a junior person, she was my subordinate at home affairs, she joined being an intern, and she's a very junior person to have that kind of influence."Mkhwebane, 46, was chosen as Madonsela's successor after a rigorous and public parliamentary process that has been acknowledged by most as having been credible."This thing was so transparent. It was based on merit. If then there's that connection [with the Presidency] then I don't know."And if people can say that, was the president there or even whoever, when I was being questioned? Did they answer questions for me? My allegiance is to the constitution, rule of law. I will do my work without fear or favour."We're not fighting here; Chapter 9 institutions are there to strengthen constitutional democracy. The public protector is not a court of law, why must I be antagonistic towards government?"Lawson Naidoo, the executive secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, said that while every citizen was entitled to make nominations, the fact that Mkhwebane had been nominated by a Presidency official did not augur well for independence."That would raise eyebrows, and I think quite legitimately. It's an appointment that is sensitive. It requires somebody that is robustly independent. Independence revolves a lot around perceptions."While there may be nothing untoward in the very fact of that nomination, the perception may be created that because someone within the Presidency had nominated her, there might be political motive behind it. Perceptions play a big part, as the Constitutional Court has told us in assessing independence," he said.block_quotes_start My key issue is to try and strike a balance ... I don't want a situation where we leave service delivery complaints [unattended] block_quotes_endMkhwebane, who will report for duty next Monday, said she would seek a formal engagement with the DA after the opposition party claimed that she doubled as a government spy in China while she was there officially as an immigration counsellor for the Department of Home Affairs.The new public protector said she wanted the DA to publicly withdraw this allegation or produce evidence proving its claim, failing which she could take legal action to compel it to do so."I will engage them while I'm in office. Anything is resolved by negotiation. We'll communicate and it will depend on how far we go."If the DA can come forward with the evidence they have, it will be interesting who their sources are. But I would appreciate it if they could withdraw that because it's not true that I have been a spy."Mkhwebane said there would be no departure from how Madonsela had run the office.full_story_image_hright1Her biggest concern with how the office has been functioning so far is what she termed "the leaking" of preliminary reports to the media."What would I do differently? Although I'm not saying it was intentional, that something leaked to the media before being finalised ... I would make sure that I put systems in place to make sure that we minimise the risk of preliminary reports leaking to the media."Because at the end of the day, I think that's acting with integrity and being credible."We will be transparent to the media, but let's not create unnecessary tension."Maybe some of the things she [Madonsela] could not control and that's possibly the reason why some people were attacking her."Madonsela's critics, especially in the ANC, accused her office of conducting "trials through the media" by leaking reports to journalists when those who were being investigated had not had the opportunity to respond to the draft findings.Mkhwebane said that while she would not ignore high-profile cases, her priority would be probing complaints that affect the lives of ordinary people."My wish is that in seven years, when I leave the office, I will leave it with a South African who is empowered to hold government accountable."Her immediate responsibility would be to "tackle the backlog of complaints that relate to service delivery", she said."My key issue is to try and strike a balance ... I don't want a situation where we leave service delivery complaints [unattended]."mokonet@sundaytimes.co.za..