Publications
Partners
Appearing before Parliament's trade and industry portfolio committee, she also revealed that her National Consumer Commission (NCC) had just obtained an unqualified financial audit report from the Auditor-General.
Referring to the tribunal's report, compiled in June this year, Mohlala-Mulaudzi questioned its motivation and timing, as well the reason for it having been leaked to media houses.
"For us, the conduct of the tribunal has... been very surprising. We have a situation where (it) is preparing a report that is not required in terms of an act, or a shareholder conference... (and is) not an imperative in terms of any piece of legislation.
"So, we are... taken aback as to why this report is being prepared, and, interestingly, why at this point in time," she told MPs.
A report on the annual performance of the commission would have been expected at the end of March.
"But all of a sudden, in June, this report is prepared... It then is called a secret report. But somehow it then ends up before every major media house in this country...
"So we are... a bit concerned about why this report was prepared and then secondly it ends up (with the media), and then, thirdly, it also forms a factor in relation to my performance as a commissioner," she said.
Mohlala-Mulaudzi, who was appointed to her post in October 2010, is locked in a legal battle with Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies over her contract, which the minister decided not to extend past its expiration date next month.
On Wednesday, she faced questions from MPs over the findings of the tribunal's report.
On the report's stating the NCC had "failed to follow due process" in some cases, Mohlala-Mulaudzi said there had been a failure on the tribunal's part to give specific examples of this.
In response to the argument that her commission had "exceeded our mandate" and presented "poorly drafted compliance notices", she said the NCC did not understand where this was coming from, "and on what basis are they (the tribunal) coming up with this type of insinuation".
The NCC also took "serious, serious offence" to the report's assertion that the commission was "trying to usurp the powers of the minister or the powers of other entities".
It would never act beyond its powers, Mohlala-Mulaudzi said.
To accusations that the NCC was "unduly combative", she said there was a record of correspondence with the tribunal where, "on each and every turn, we've been turned away".
This had reached a point where the NCC's legal representatives were told that "if they persist in trying to contact the tribunal... we would be reported to the Law Society, and a criminal charge brought against us because we are unduly interfering with the tribunal".
Mohlala-Mulaudzi said the commission had letters from the tribunal specifically stating this. Copies of all correspondence between the NCC and the tribunal could be made available to the committee.
She called for a special sitting of the committee, where both parties could be present, to review the contents of the tribunal's report. She noted that while members had been given a copy of the report, they did not have a copy of the NCC's response.
"I think it's a bit unfair that we as the NCC are expected to sit here and respond to the contents of the tribunal's report in their absence."
Earlier, the committee heard the NCC had received an unqualified audit report from the Auditor-General.
"It's important to indicate that the Auditor-General has given us a clean bill of health with regard to (operational performance). They found no reason to question or qualify (our) performance information... and they believe we met the... requirements in terms of (our) strategic plan.
"In relation to our financial performance... it's also important to indicate that we did receive an unqualified audit, and we believe... this is a very important accolade for the commission."
Mohlala-Mulaudzi said she had received a letter from the Auditor-General in this regard.
*Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
