Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has defended the report into the Estina dairy project after the North Gauteng High Court slapped her with another personal costs order.
Mkhwebane took to Twitter on Friday to show that the report by her predecessor, Thuli Madonsela, in 2014 had contained no findings against politicians.
She posted the provisional report of 2014.
“It contains no findings against any politician as no investigation was carried out against politicians. It directs the Premier to take action against the HOD and CFO,” wrote the public protector’s office.
READ: Estina Dairy Farm Project provisional report dated November 2014. It contains no findings against any politician as no investigation was carried out against politicians. It directs the Premier to take action against the HOD and CFO. https://t.co/yGzfSZzRv5
— Public Protector SA (@PublicProtector) August 16, 2019
But opposition parties and civil society had insisted that she sidestepped politicians when she released the report in 2018.
Mkhwebane had taken over from Madonsela in 2016, and the report was released two years later.
READ: The remedial action in the final report dated February 2018 and the remedial action in the provisional report dated November 2018. A provisional report is a draft document and therefore subject to editing, and it hadn’t been sent to parties for comment. https://t.co/0AMaN3symw pic.twitter.com/oC3HdAhxh7
— Public Protector SA (@PublicProtector) August 16, 2019
The DA and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) took the report on review in court.
The North Gauteng High Court ruled in favour of the official opposition and Casac early this year.
In another judgment on Thursday judge Ronel Tolmay ruled in favour of Casac and the DA and ordered Mkhwebane to pay personal cost orders. She will pay 7.5% for the DA’s legal fees and another 7.5% for Casac.
Both the DA and Casac have urged Parliament to institute proceedings to remove her from office.
This was the second time she has been slapped with personal cost orders after the Constitutional Court ordered her to pay 15% in cost orders in the South African Reserve Bank matter.