Cape Town - Tempers flared during Parliament’s enquiry hearings into suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office when former SA Revenue Service (Sars) deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay, who has won a number of court judgments against her, gave evidence on Friday.
The hearings featured a number of sharp exchanges between Mkhwebane’s legal representative advocate Dali Mpofu SC and the enquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi, evidence leader advocate Nazreen Bawa SC as well as with Pillay.
As Bawa was taking the committee through several affidavits by Pillay, which formed part of the judgments the courts made against Mkhwebane, Mpofu said he had some points to put on record that he wanted Dyantyi to rule on before Bawa could begin leading the evidence.
While asking for Dyantyi’s ruling, Mpofu said he knew it would proceed nonetheless at which point Dyantyi interjected and said Mpofu did not know what the ruling would be and he did not appreciate being anticipated.
Later, as Bawa took Pillay through the court judgments that set aside Mkhwebane’s report against him, Mpofu interrupted Bawa and said judgments were merely the court’s opinions.
Bawa countered by saying judgments were binding on everyone and asked Mpofu if he at least admitted to the accuracy of the judgments, to which Mpofu replied: “How can I admit something that is blatantly wrong?”
When Mpofu began his cross-examination of Pillay he continued in the same vein and said to him that judgments were just opinions.
Pillay responded by asking Mpofu how in that case could opinions be binding? At this point Mpofu told Pillay not to question him as he did not appreciate the legal principle. Pillay said he understood the principle but he thought Mkhwebane did not.
Mpofu brought up the issue of Pillay’s retirement from Sars and his immediate rehiring on contract even as Sars paid him R1.1 million as a penalty for early retirement.
In her May 2019 report on the incident of Pillay’s retirement, Mkhwebane found that then finance minister Pravin Gordhan had acted irregularly by approving the retirement with full benefits and recommended that the president take disciplinary action against Gordhan.
The courts however reviewed the report and ruled Mkhwebane’s findings on Gordhan were irrational.
Pillay, who was accused of being involved in the so-called illegal Sars unit, an intelligence unit that investigated several high-profile people, testified that Mkhwebane investigated him on three matters and found him guilty of misconduct and maladministration.
He said in two of the three reports on the investigations, the PP either ignored or dismissed the evidence he provided to her.
Pillay testified that at the time of his appointment at Sars no qualification was required for the position of commissioner or deputy commissioner but that had since changed.
He denied a claim that his friendship with Gordhan, who was a commissioner of Sars, enabled him to rise at Sars.
The hearings will continue on Wednesday.