Cape Town - Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s request to the Section 194 Committee that President Ramaphosa be subpoenaed to testify before the committee was turned down on Tuesday.
This emerged when the committee met to consider her request to subpoena Ramaphosa and also recall former SARS employees Ivan Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg, among others.
Briefing the committee, parliamentary legal advisor Fatima Ebrahim said the request to summons Ramaphosa was raised by Mkhwebane’s legal team quite early in the hearings.
Ebrahim said Mkhwebane had addressed an invitation to Ramaphosa to appear before the committee in relation to the charges she was facing.
These related to her suspension, review of the CR17 report, his position on her legal representation in the inquiry and accusations he made against her.
Ebrahim said the state attorney had responded, saying Ramaphosa would not accept the request to appear before committee and that prompted Mkhwebane to request the committee to take all necessary steps to summons the president.
She also said in her letter to the committee, her request related to the CR17 report.
“It appears the public protector no longer wishes to question the president on the suspension, legal representation and alleged accusations by president.”
Ebrahim took through the committee on the legal framework, its terms of reference and the committee’s directives, among other things, which deal with subpoena of witnesses.
Ebrahim said the committee could use its constitutional powers to summon the president or any other person to provide information that was necessary for it to determine the veracity of the charges.
She noted that Mkhwebane’s letter to the committee narrowed the scope for Ramaphosa to answer questions to a matter settled by the court.
“The president, as a subject matter of the CR17, would not be involved in the investigation, drafting and issuing of the report, a process the committee is ultimately scrutinising.”
She also said the president’s version of the events that led to the complaint and his challenges formed part of the court record.
“The president deposed affidavits where he sets out his evidence on the matter and that is readily available in the public domain.”
Ebrahim said while Parliament should exercise oversight over the president, the committee was not mandated to conduct such oversight.
“This committee is to establish the veracity of the charges. The president may have to answer on various issues in other parliamentary forums but not in this committee in relation to CR17,” she said, adding that Ramaphosa may have executive function to perform after the parliamentary process and should not be drawn into the proceedings at the preliminary stage.
However, Ebrahim said there was no legal impediment that prohibited the committee from summonsing Ramaphosa or any other person to appear before the committee.
“If the committee is of the view that the president’s presence is necessary I advise that in the spirit of co-operative governance that the committee first invite the president to appear before proceeding with issuing of summons notwithstanding the president received invitation and declined invitation from the Public Protector.”
During deliberations on the matter, a majority of committee members backed the legal opinion and felt there was no need to subpoena Ramaphosa.
ANC MP Jane Mananiso said subpoenaing Ramaphosa would be irrelevant and waste of time.
GOOD party MP Brett Herron said Mkhwebane’s legal team should be asked to submit a substantive motivation as she had an obligation to convince the committee that Ramaphosa’s evidence was relevant.
Freedom Front Plus’ Corné Mulder said the legal opinion was sound and that he supported it as he thought there was no need to summons the president.
In his ruling, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi said the MPs were very clear that they supported the legal opinion and that Ramaphosa be not subpoenaed.
“The directives stipulate a framework and a process when we can subpoena a witness,” he said.
Qubudile added that they would inform Mkhwebane that her request was declined.
Cape Times