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Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has completed a report on the Vrede dairy farm scandal.
- Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says her investigation into the Vrede Dairy Farm project in the Free State has been completed.
- However, those who received notices wanted more time before preparing their responses.
- His office also requested affidavits from other politicians who were allegedly involved.
Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s investigation into the Vrede dairy farm matter has been completed, but the parties notified requested more time to properly consider its contents before preparing their responses.
Mkhwebane’s office released 14 reports on Wednesday.
He said the Vrede dairy investigation turned out to be “complex”, adding that other institutions had also been contacted.
“We thought the issues were so simple and would only involve politicians from the Free State, but then we had to request affidavits from all the other politicians who were involved in this particular issue,” he said.
“Only at the beginning of this month [we] able to notify the parties involved with notices in terms of section 7 (9) of the Public Protection Act. We hope to receive your responses in time and have the report ready for this briefing.
Some of the parties requested more time to properly consider the content of the notifications before preparing their responses.
READ | Mkhwebane’s attempt to appeal Vrede dairy farm judgment fails
“I should add that such requests are commonly requested by the parties, especially in complex matters and in the interests of fairness, we allow the parties reasonable extensions of the deadline so that they can respond adequately and satisfactorily to possible adverse findings.
“We hope that, by the last week of this month, we have received all the responses so we can conclude the investigation and publish the findings.
It has failed
Last year, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that Mkhwebane had failed in his duties to investigate and report on the Vrede Dairy Farm project in the Free State.
Judge Ronel Tolmay ruled that the initial report, which Mkhwebane published in 2018, was unconstitutional and invalid and set it aside.
Subsequently, the court held Mkhwebane liable for some of the legal costs in his personal capacity.
Last month, the Constitutional Court rejected his request for authorization to appeal the ruling against his report.
News24 previously reported that the farm, gifted to Estina in 2013 under a 99-year free lease from the Free State Department of Agriculture, was one of the most scandal-ridden transactions between the controversial Guptas and a government entity.
