‘DA is picking on Mkhwebane’
Public protector said she had completed her report into the Estina dairy farm scandal before Gupta leaks broke
THE Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, says her decision not to investigate former Free State premier Ace Magashule for corruption was due to the fact that the Hawks were already investigating allegations against him.
Mkhwebane also said she had already concluded her report into the R342-million Estina dairy farm scandal when the Gupta leaks emerged, apparently linking Magashule and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane to the illegal deal – which apparently benefited the Guptas.
Mkhwebane was replying in the High Court in Pretoria yesterday to the DA’s application that she had allegedly failed to thoroughly investigate all the complaints lodged by their Free State caucus chair, Roy Jankielsohn, from September 2013 until May 2016.
She said the court application was just another attempt to get rid of her.
The DA, through Jankielsohn, in September 2013 asked Mkhwebane’s predecessor, Thuli Madonsela, to investigate whether procurement processes were followed during the issuing of the R342m for the establishment of the Estina dairy farm project in June 2012.
In March 2014, Jankielsohn made a second complaint about gross irregularities and irregular expenditure in the Vrede Dairy Farm project. He also complained about the inflated cost and undue secrecy concerning the project by the provincial government.
The third complaint was lodged on May 10, 2016, in which Jankielsohn asked the Public Protector to include the role of former Free State premier Ace Magashule and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane in the allocation of the contract.
In his application, Jankielsohn had particularly argued that Magashule was complicit in the alleged fraud for his apparent failure to implement the National Treasury instruction to take disciplinary action against the provincial agriculture head of department (HOD), Peter Thabethe.
The National Treasury made the recommendation after its investigation revealed that Thabethe concluded the Estina project without any procurement process on June 7, 2013. The DA argued that Magashule approved the deal on June 13, and later refused to take action against Thabethe.
Giving reasons for not taking action against Thabethe, Magashule told Mkhwebane that he did not take action because the National Treasury report “contained incorrect factual and legal statements”, and did not “establish a credible basis for disciplinary steps against the HOD and the then chief financial officer”.
The DA also said Mkhwebane should have also considered the Gupta leaks, which allegedly implicated Magashule and Zwane, before publishing her report in February this year.
In her response, Mkhwebane, through her legal counsel, advocate Vuyani Ngalwana, took a swipe at the DA, accusing it of being bitter over Parliament’s decision to endorse her appointment as public protector in 2016.
“Its grief continued upon her appointment in October 2016, and it has not been coy in expressing its disappointment publicly,” Ngalwana said.
Judgment has been reserved.