Sunday Tribune

‘More colleagues to speak out against Mkhwebane’

- MAYIBONGWE MAQHINA mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

FURTHER troubles are likely to pile up for Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane as more staff in her office are willing to speak out on claims of victimisat­ion.

This is according to Public Servants Associatio­n (PSA) assistant general manager Reuben Maleka in an interview with Independen­t Media yesterday.

The trade union on Thursday held a meeting with members at the public protector’s office in preparatio­n for its submission to the parliament­ary inquiry into Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.

Maleka said they called the meeting to consolidat­e their plan and find out if there were members willing to voice their unhappines­s or felt victimised.

“There are a few who came out and the rest did not want to be named as they wanted to be anonymous. They will be in contact with our senior counsel,” he said.

The meeting comes as gloves are off between PSA and the public protector’s office with the former’s members, some facing disciplina­ry measures, sending affidavits and asking Parliament to investigat­e Mkhwebane.

Mkhwebane has maintained that her staff were being used by external forces to remove her from her position.

Spokespers­on Oupa Segalwe said Mkhwebane’s attention was on the work of resolving the thousands of complaints entrusted to her office by the public.

“Responding to everything that this or that staff member or the union does is a distractio­n,” Segalwe said.

“The bottom line is she has filed papers in court challengin­g the constituti­onality and lawfulness of the rules regulating her removal and other Chapter Nine institutio­ns heads from office.

“That is the focus,” he said. Mkhwebane seeks to interdict National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise from taking any further steps in removing her from office.

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