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Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane
PHOTO: Jan Gerber, News24
- The District Attorney plans to press for the ANC to support a process for the Public Protector to be charged, but some members of the ruling party do not accept any of that.
- The ANC Women’s League and MKMVA believe it is a plot by supporters of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule says “principled” ANC MPs would not vote in favor of a motion to remove her.
The district attorney’s intention to lobby the ANC caucus support for a parliamentary process that would lead to the impeachment of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has drawn the ire of some members of the ruling party.
READ | The National Assembly will decide on March 16 whether to launch an investigation into Mkhwebane’s suitability for the position.
“No army in the world allows soldiers to be commanded by the enemy general. Therefore, we do not expect any member of the ANC to receive marching orders from DA seats regarding this motion,” said the secretary general of the ANC Women’s League, Meokgo Matuba. .
The league is one of the ANC formations that believes the attempt to get rid of Mkhwebane is part of a plot against him. The uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) has expressed a similar opinion.
Matuba said that the “attack” against the Public Protector was due to his belief that the Reserve Bank of South Africa should be owned and controlled by the state, and because of his Absa / Bankorp investigation.
The league also believes that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s supporters were upset by its investigation into his campaign funds.
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This week, an opposition MP told News24 that the prosecutor’s intention, expressed by party leader John Steenhuisen, to vote with Ramaphosa supporters in favor of a process to impeach Mkhwebane “compromises even Cyril because it generates criticism. negative “.
He said that Ramaphosa detractors would use this to rally support for his point of view by claiming that Ramaphosa was working for “white monopoly capital,” an expression used by supporters of the ANC secretary general, Ace Magashule, for large established companies .
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The Sunday Times reported that Magashule called on ANC MPs this week to oppose any attempt to impeach Mkhwebane, after a report by an independent panel appointed by Parliament determined that impeachment proceedings should be initiated against her.
Magashule told the publication that “principled” ANC MPs would not vote in favor of the district attorney’s motion.
Removal of Mkhwebane requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament, or 267 votes, while the motion to conduct an inquiry into his fitness for office requires 50% plus one, or 201 votes from MPs.
The ANC has 249 seats in the National Assembly, while the DA has 89 and the rest are shared by several smaller opposition parties.
READ | Battle to overthrow Busisiwe Mkhwebane
For any motion against Mkhwebane to pass, at least 50 ANC MPs would have to vote in favor.
Several ANC MPs told City Press that they would never support a DA motion, even if the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC), dominated by Ramaphosa supporters, decided otherwise.
The NEC supported Mkhwebane’s appointment and has not taken a position to the contrary.
