Rustenburg - Suspended Public Protector advocate Busisiwe Mkhwabane was more focused on the completion and submission of reports than their quality and accuracy, the Section 194 Committee into the removal of Mkhwebane from the office heard on Tuesday.
Senior Public Protector official Nelisiwe Thejane told the committee that the focus on 'what product and by when' target compromised the quality of the investigations, adding that the rush meant some investigations did not go through the quality assurance processes.
Thejane said some of the reports were completed on the eve of a media briefing, or the morning of the briefing, where the reports would be publicly released.
"There was a rush; I will not attribute the rush to the whether the PP [Public Protector] was incompetent of appreciating their complexity or not... She was more focused on the completion and the submission of those reports," Thejane told the committee.
Committee members completed their questioning of Thejane, although she would appear again before the committee on September 21 for cross-examination.
This was after advocate Dali Mpofu, for Mkhwebane, asked for changes in a change of dates, explaining that Mkhwebane was sick on Tuesday, saying that beside that, they were not ready to cross-examine Thejane.
President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane in June. However, the Western Cape High Court on Friday made a ruling declaring President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to suspend Mkhwebane invalid.
The DA has applied to appeal the court decision, and has since been joined by others, including Ramaphosa.
The Section 194 Committee will proceed on Wednesday with the evidence of a new witness.
IOL