Assessing Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s case against Pravin Gordhan

JOHANNESBURG - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s lawyers on Tuesday filed a review application asking the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to set aside a report by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.Mkhwebane found Gordhan guilty of improper conduct after he granted the early retirement payout of then South African Revenue Service (Sars) deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay.Gordhan’s lawyer, Tebogo Malatji, said his client would also ask the court to set aside Mkhwebane’s report and findings as unconstitutional, unlawful, irrational and invalid.702 host Eusebius McKaiser speaks to Malatji about his client’s response to Mkhwebane’s report as well as to journalist Marianne Thamm about the wider question of the competency of the Public Protector and controversies surrounding her work.Malatji said if they do not take the remedial actions that Mkhwebane has recommended, it must be implemented, adding once we have launched a review court application that matter is then subjected to public review.On factual inaccuracies of this entire matter, Malatji said the fact that the Public Protector found that Pillay did not retire was incorrect.Thamm, who wrote a piece on Daily Maverick Fiddling while South Africa burns: What is Busisiwe Mkhwebane up to? says we must acknowledge that the Public Protector is within her right to release the report and Gordhan is entitled to take it on review.For more listen to the audio.
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