Absa ruling proves that Public Protector must go: DA

The latest scathing court judgment against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is more proof that she should be axed‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday.

A full bench of the High Court in Pretoria on Friday set aside remedial action contained in the Absa-Bankorp report‚ which found that Absa should repay R1.1-billion to the Reserve Bank.

In the judgment‚ Mkhwebane was also ordered to personally pay 15% of the costs of the application by the Reserve Bank‚ on an attorney and client scale‚ including the costs of three counsel.

DA shadow minister of justice Glynnis Breytenbach said this was not the first time Mkhwebane had wasted precious resources on frivolous court applications.

Breytenbach cited two other instances where Mkhwebane had wastefully incurred legal costs. These included Mkhwebane backing down from her proposal to amend the constitution in order to expand the mandate of the Reserve Bank.

“By all accounts‚ Mkhwebane is utterly ineffectual and dangerously out of touch with her mandate as Public Protector. The DA has always maintained that she is not suitable to head up the Office of the Public Protector‚ as a crucial institution in the fight against injustice and corruption‚” Breytenbach said.

Breytenbach said the latest judgment against her was more proof that she should immediately be removed. She said the judgment was also an indictment of the ANC members of the portfolio committee on justice‚ who refused to consider the DA’s request to remove her.