By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has missed the deadline to respond to written questions posed by the members and evidence leaders of Parliament’s Section 194 Enquiry into her fitness to hold office.
This has been confirmed by the chairperson of the Section 194 committee, Qubudile Dyanti, who said she was meant to respond to written questions posed by MPs and evidence leaders in the investigation into her fitness to hold office.
Dyantyi said this is not the first deadline Mkhwebane has missed since the committee was forced to adopt a new approach after various challenges and delays in relation to her legal assistance.
The Section 194 inquiry into Mkhwbane’s fitness to hold office was hoping its new approach would save it time and costs.
In a statement on Friday, Dyantyi said, “It is unfortunate that the PP has decided to disregard this important process by not responding to the questions and thereby disrespecting the committee process as was agreed to by all participating Members on 9 June 2023.
Dyanti has further added that Mkhwebane has until the end of Friday to submit a written notice to the committee if she will make a closing statement.
“Even though the PP has missed several deadlines, this is another opportunity for her to appraise the committee of her version of the events in terms of the motion before the committee,” he noted.
“I would urge PP to take this opportunity to take the public into confidence by utilising the platform being afforded to her. Just as much as the committee has a constitutional responsibility to complete its mandate, so too must the PP account to Parliament via the committee in this instance.”
Despite the missed deadlines, Dyantyi has made it clear that the committee will continue in terms of the timelines set out and the committee is expected to finalise its work on 28 July.
Meanwhile, the deadline for application and nominations for a new Public Protector closed on Friday as Mkhwebane’s term comes to an end in October.