Mkhwebane was accused of being politically influenced by former president Jacob Zuma and the acting public protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, has suffered the same accusations, as she is accused of being biased in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa, after the publishing of the Phala Phala scandal report.
Fick said though Gcaleka might be a good candidate with years of experience in the institution, the political cloud over her head might be disadvantageous to restoring the office’s reputation.
“I do think Gcaleka is a good candidate and there are some good points as to why she should be considered as the next public protector. That there is some political history and a bit of a cloud hanging over her is concerning. I ask myself, though she is a good candidate is she the best? I don’t think so,” Fick said.
Fick said growing noise from politicians about the appointment of the next public protector so close to elections was concerning. The Sunday Times reported that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula had instructed the party’s MPs to vote for Gcaleka as the next public protector.
Fick suggested that starting the appointment process might be ideal but time was not on parliament’s side.
“I think in general that if you have the right incumbent, who does what they are supposed to do in terms of the constitution, gets investigations back on track and stands up to political interference then they can turn the ship around,” she said.
Outa and another civil rights organisation, Accountability Now, said parliament made the right decision by ousting Mkhwebane.
Accountability Now director Paul Hoffman said the organisation started reporting Mkhwebane for misconduct to parliament’s justice portfolio committee as early as 2017, just months after her appointment.
“She was running the office in a way that suggested her competence was not up to the standard required of a chapter 9 institution, which has constitutionally guaranteed independence. She was not behaving in an independent way.
“She was more or less behaving as an extension of the RET faction of the ANC, which is what got her into trouble with the Reserve Bank and Absa,” Hoffman said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
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