DA gets set for council to elect interim leader

The DA will be thrust into the spotlight again this week as it prepares to go to its federal council, where it will elect an interim leader.

It will be a three-horse race with parliamentary leader John Steenhuisen, Gauteng member of the provincial legislature Makashule Gana and Western Cape provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela in the running for the position.

This comes less than a month after Mmusi Maimane resigned as DA leader and from the party. The party’s federal council, which will convene on Sunday, will also elect an interim federal chair to replace Athol Trollip, who resigned along with Maimane.

Western Cape agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer, Gauteng member of the provincial legislature Khume Ramulifho, Western Cape health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo and Buffalo City chief whip Dharmesh Dhaya are all in the running to be interim federal chair.

In parliament, the portfolio committee on justice will start interviewing candidates for the position of deputy public protector. The interviews, to start on Tuesday, follow the decision by deputy Kevin Malunga to not serve a second term. His term will end at the beginning of December.

The parliamentary committee has until early December to find a suitable candidate. Eight candidates have been shortlisted for the position, though the EFF and the DA objected to some of them.

The eight shortlisted candidates include Moshoeshoe Toba, an attorney working at the SA Revenue Service as a senior manager for legal services; Sonwabile Mancotywa, an advocate and former CEO of the National Heritage Council;

Shadrack Nkuna, an advocate and deputy director of public administration investigations at the Public Service Commission; Noxolo Mbangeni, an advocate at the Cape bar; Lwazi Phumelela Kubukeli, an advocate in East London; and Puleng Matshelo, an advocate.

Two of the eight were among five candidates flagged by Corruption Watch. One of these is attorney Buang Jones, acting head of legal services at the SA Human Rights Commission. The other is Kholeka Gcaleka, an advocate. The EFF opposed her inclusion on the basis of the comments made by Corruption

Watch, but the committee decided to keep her name on the shortlist and allow the interview process to proceed. The DA did not mention which candidates it was opposed to.

On Wednesday, a joint meeting of the portfolio committees on mineral resources & energy and public enterprises will be briefed on the Eskom special paper and the effect of the Integrated Resource Plan. At the end of October, the government announced it would forge ahead with splitting up Eskom, leading with the establishment of a separate transmission company. The separation of the transmission entity from Eskom’s generation division is crucial to the introduction of a competitive energy market.

On Tuesday, the economic cluster of ministers will answer questions in the National Council of Provinces, and on Wednesday ministers in the peace & security cluster will answer questions in the National Assembly.

On Wednesday, auditorgeneral Kimi Makwetu will release national and provincial government’s audit results for the 2018/2019 financial year.