‘PP wanted us to bow to her like she was madam’
SUSPENDED Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s lawyer, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, yesterday raised lengthy objections to the testimony of former PPSA chief operating officer Basani Baloyi, saying her testimony was a waste of time and money.
Mpofu waited until Baloyi, who was testifying virtually, had been sworn-in for Parliament’s inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office before he raised his objection to the relevance of the witness’s evidence to the work of the Parliamentary impeachment inquiry.
Mpofu said Baloyi’s testimony was not only irrelevant, but a waste of taxpayers’ money and time. He said such a waste of time would only prolong Mkhwebane’s absence from her office, which was a disservice to the public.
He said the bulk of Baloyi’s allegations concerned former PPSA chief executive Vussy Mahlangu and not Mkhwebane and warned committee chairperson Qubudile Dyanti against setting precedents.
After Dyantyi listened to the objections, he thanked Mpofu for his consistency as far as objections against witnesses were concerned, but said it would be up to the committee to engage with all the evidence adduced and decide whether time had been wasted or not.
Meanwhile, Baloyi told the inquiry that her dismissal after an 8-month stint at the PPSA was part of a deliberate purge of officials who did not toe Mkhwebane’s line. Baloyi, who was led in evidence by advocate Ncumisa Mayosi, described Mkhwebane as “an authoritarian who is inflexible and wants to be bowed to like a madam.”
At this point, Mayosi asked her if she was exaggerating and she replied: “When the public protector walked from her office to the boardroom we had to rise. Not even ministers of the executive authority get that treatment.”
Baloyi, who is now working at the Gauteng Department of Health, gave evidence about the intimidation, harassment and victimisation of workers whom Mkhwebane objected to.
Baloyi, whose employment was terminated in 2019, said she knew that Mkhwebane wanted her gone immediately after her probationary period ended in July that year.
She said that the fact that she was often at odds with Mahlangu, who was allegedly allied to Mkhwebane, did not help her cause.
When Mahlangu, the fifth witness at the inquiry, testified at the beginning of August, he testified that throughout his 19-month tenure as the chief executive of the PPSA, he used facts on disciplinary hearings and investigations.
Mahlangu denied that the disciplinary actions he undertook were at the behest of, or in consultation with, Mkhwebane and said he was in charge of the administration and Mkhwebane did not interfere.
Yesterday, Baloyi said: “There was a concerted effort regardless of what I did. Without following internal policies, there was a concerted effort to get rid of me.”
Baloyi, who has brought various court challenges against Mkhwebane, said her performance was never assessed, and that there had never been any complaints about her work.
Baloyi, who has has fought her dismissal by Mkhwebane in the courts, said the Office of the Public Protector last month offered to reach an outof-court settlement to a legal battle she initiated in 2020, challenging her dismissal.