Mkhwebane shielded Magashule, Zwane in Vrede dairy report, Parliament told

After a week of evidence at parliament’s inquiry into her fitness to hold office, Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s reputation took another battering when it emerged she had been more interested in protecting top political figures than ordinary members of the public.

Nditsheni Raedani, an investigator in the Public Protector office, told the Section 194 inquiry that Mkhwebane had ordered that negative findings in the Vrede dairy report, against then Free State premier Ace Magashule and his agriculture MEC, Mosebenzi Zwane, be removed.

This had caused some disquiet and unhappiness among the investigators, he said.

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However, when their misgivings were conveyed to Mkhwebane, she allegedly responded: “I don’t care,” he testified.

Raedani said he believed the report on the Vrede project was therefore “significantly watered down”.

He was the third witness to say Mkhwebane instructed her staff to exonerate politicians implicated in wrongdoing in the project.

Raedani also said he and other investigators were blocked by Mkhwebane from using the trove of e-mails in the #GuptaLeaks, which have show multiple links to the dairy project.

The Vrede dairy project was examined in some detail by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

Hundreds of millions of rands of taxpayers’ money was funnelled, ultimately, to the Gupta network via one of their companies, Estina, which, although an IT entity, was given the contract for setting up a dairy farm.

The project was initially estimated to cost R13 million but, eventually, R572 million was siphoned out of taxpayers’ coffers, Zondo found.

He also suggested that the Free State government take legal advice on whether it could sue Zwane and Magashule to recover money.

READ MORE: Mkhwebane impeachment hearings: Parliament concerned about treatment of witnesses

Zondo stated that both Magashule and Zwane had failed in their oversight duty to ensure money was spent and accounted for properly and accused both of them of “pursuing the agenda of the Guptas”.

Mkhwebane’s report on the dairy project was also the subject of an action in the High Court in Pretoria in 2019, brought by the Democratic Alliance and the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution.

They alleged that Mkhwebane had acted unlawfully and violated her constitutional mandate during the investigation and the drawing up of the report.

Judge Ronel Tolmay said Mkhwebane had failed to properly and objectively investigate numerous irregularities, but she had also failed in her duty to interview both victims and the politicians implicated.

The parliamentary probe was adjourned yesterday to allow the state evidence leading team and Mkhwebane’s defence, led by advocate Dali Mpofu, to confer about witnesses that Mpofu will be calling in support of Mkhwebane.

On Monday, Mpofu told the Section 194 inquiry chair, Qubudile Dyantyi, that he had written to him regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s subpoena.

Mpofu wants Ramaphosa to speak about comments he had made about Mkhwebane which would make her open to impeachment.

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