Sara chief sings the praises of protector

SA Roadies Association (Sara) head Freddie Nyathela said on Wednesday he had no personal knowledge of matters linked to charges suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is facing at parliament’s section 194 committee proceedings.

“My being here was to present about our experience with the work of public protector [Mkhwebane] ... what she did for us and our young people. In terms of these other issues, the Reserve Bank and all of that ... those are other issues,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nyathela sang Mkhwebane’s praises for reports she wrote which resulted in Sara securing funding from the department of sport, arts & culture for operational expenses and renovations to its central Johannesburg training centre.

She had also “vindicated” Sara’s complaint against the National Arts Council (NAC) and its policy, which Nyathela said permitted wholesale looting by officials.

Evidence leader Nazreen Bawa said she wanted to assess where his evidence fitted in and read out most of the charges.