By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Committee for Section 194 Enquiry into suspended Public Protector Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office today resolved to resume hearings on Monday, 5th of June.
Section 194 Committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi indciated that the inquiry would resume next week, “everything needs to be done within reasonable means”.
Dyantyi stressed that the committee only had 22 days to complete its work and would have to adopt a revised programme as a result of the recent delays.
“There are no extra days, there’s no extra money,” he said.
The committee’s legal advisor, Fatima Ebrahim, confirmed that Chaane Attorneys has been appointed to act on behalf of Mkhwebane.
She told the committee that Advocate Dali Mpofu will be retained as part of the suspended public protector’s legal team.
An agreement was also reached between Solicitor-General Fhedzisani Pandelani and the Public Protector’s Office to retain the rest of Mkhwebane’s team – including advocates, Hangwi Matlhape and Bright Shabalala.
Ebrahim said Mkhwebane’s legal fees were renegotiated and it was initially agreed that the team would cost R90 000 per day.
However, a new fee structure was submitted this week and has now increased to R102 000 daily.
According to Ebrahim, Mpofu’s rate went up to R51 000 from the initial amount of R45 000, while Shabalala and Matlhape raised from R27 000 to R30 000 and from R18 000 to R21 000 respectively.
Although the new rates have been approved, the Public Protector’s Office has warned that Mkhwebane will have to foot her own legal bills if the additional funds that was made available by the Chapter 9 Institution ran out.
“We do now sit with the issue that there is only the R4 million as far as [the Public Protector’s Office] is concern and with the increased rates on the one hand and the fact that all three counsel are back on board, it may possibly mean that there will less days available in which to manage those funds,” Ebrahim said on Friday.
According to the Section 194 committee’s draft programme, the inquiry will resume on 5 June for Mkhwebane to conclude giving her oral evidence before being cross-examined by the evidence leaders and questioned by MPs until 23 June.
Thereafter, closing arguments will be heard from on 28 June.
The committee will then deliberate on the inquiry hearings for a period of three days before proceeding to compile and table a draft report on 11 July.
The draft report will be adopted the following day on 12 July.
Mkhwebane will be afforded an opportunity to go through the report from 13 to 24 July.
The committee aims to adopt a final report for tabling to the National Assembly on 28 July.
The revised programme, which could be changed at a later stage, means that the committee will work throughout Parliament’s constituency period, which starts on 18 June and ends on 31 August.
The meeting on Friday came a day after Mkhwebane was granted leave to appeal to Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in her case against Dyantyi and Democratic Alliance (DA) Kevin Mileham.
The matter was heard at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.
Mkhwebane sought appeal the high court’s previous ruling, which dismissed her application to have Dyantyi and Mileham recused from her impeachment inquiry.