DA submits draft rules for the removal of the public protector

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday submitted a letter to the speaker of the house to submit a set of draft rules to guide the conduct of Parliament when it considers the removal of a head of a Chapter 9 institution, such as the public protector.

The DA explained in a statement: “Last week, the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services met to discuss the DA’s request, dated May 2019, for Parliament to consider the removal of advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the incumbent public protector, from office. The committee resolved to refer the matter back to the Speaker’s office so that the programming and rules committee may set down rules to guide the process to be followed by Parliament in this matter.”

According to the party, the committee’s decision is in line with a legal opinion obtained by them that advised this same course of action, “in order to ensure legal and procedural certainty to all parties involved and protect the integrity of the process”.

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“The DA considers the removal of advocate Mkhwebane to be a matter of great urgency. We opposed her appointment from the start, and she has since then demonstrated that she is not a fit and proper person to occupy the office of public protector,” added the DA.

The official opposition believes that it is now a case of marrying the need for urgency with the need for proper rules and procedures to be put in place first.

“She has consistently shown herself to be unable to act independently, and her often blatantly unlawful actions [have] caused great damage not only to the reputation of her office but also to the economic well-being of South Africa and the position of the rule of law in this country.”

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