Public protector report gets green light

MEMBERS of Parliament have adopted a report recommending the National Assembly appoint Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the country’s next public protector.

The recommendation enjoyed the support of opposition parties, barring the DA, on the ad hoc committee charged with finding a successor for Thuli Madonsela.

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the party reserved comment, for now.

EFF leader Julius Malema said his party had given its backing to the report and would reiterate that when it was put to the National Assembly next Wednesday.

Mkhebane emerged as the favourite after members of the ANC on the committee found themselves unable to defend Judge Siraj Desai’s candidature after a poor interview. Desai snapped at MPs, prompting the opposition to say he lacked the temperament to withstand the pressures of the job.

Adopting the minutes of its meetings yesterday, ANC MPs asked the references to Desai be muted because they were too harsh. It was then agreed the record would state “he lost his temper” under questioning.

The DA’s objection to Mkhwebane includes she offered no reasonable explanation during her interview for leaving a position at the department of home affairs for a lower-ranking job in the intelligence services.

Madonsela’s seven-year term ends in mid-October.