by Arabile Gumede
(Bloomberg) – South Africa’s anti-graft ombudsman won’t oppose the Reserve Bank’s court application to review and set aside her instruction to parliament to change the constitution and amend the central bank’s primary role.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane considered legal advice and decided not to oppose the application the central bank filed on June 28, her office said in an emailed statement on Monday.
Mkhwebane in a report last month instructed the legislature to start a process to change the nation’s constitution to make the central bank focus on the “socioeconomic well-being of the citizens” rather than inflation. Her comments caused the rand to slide as the change was seen by investors as a threat to the independence of the Reserve Bank. The decision means she may be leaving it up to the court to decide.
The anti-graft ombudsman has come under fire since the release of the report, with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba saying the instructions about the Reserve Bank are irrational and exceed her constitutional powers.
“I accept that the powers of the Public Protector are subject to the constitution and the law,” Mkhwebane said in an affidavit filed at the High Court in Pretoria. “In those circumstances, it is not possible that the constitution would confer a power upon the public protector to undermine other provisions of the constitution.”
Reserve Bank spokesman Jabulani Sikhakhane couldn’t immediately respond when phoned for comment.
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“She is obviously deferring to the courts to determine whether her position is correct or within her mandate,” Bonita Meyersfeld, a law professor who heads the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Applied Legal Studies, said by phone. “I don’t think it’s necessarily conceding or necessarily saying it’s over, but I think it does take the sting out of the political antagonism here.”
We cannot continue to allow incompetency to flourish in our govt. departments anymore! She must step down. #RecallMkhwebane #PublicProtector
— 2019*VoteForChange (@_Dineo_M) July 10, 2017
Mkhwebane’s report followed an investigation into an apartheid-era bailout by the regulator of Bankorp, which Barclays Africa Group Ltd.’s Absa bought in 1992 and instructed the lender to repay R1.125 billion ($84 million). Absa and the National Treasury have also asked the court to review Mkhwebane’s report and Parliament has filed an affidavit supporting the Reserve Bank’s application.
Mkhwebane will oppose the review applications brought by Absa and Gigaba, spokeswoman Cleopatra Mosana said by phone.
Busisiwe Mkhwebane trying to fit in Thuli Madonsela’s shoes she left at the Public Protector's office. #PublicProtector pic.twitter.com/9snPh4ik3d
— Man's Not Barry Roux  (@AdvBarryRoux) July 10, 2017
