Share

Parliament to seek court order to set aside Public Protector action

Cape Town - Parliament has joined Absa and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in heading to court to get Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s remedial action set aside, as they believe it is unlawful.

Parliament said in a statement on Thursday that it will “initiate a court application to have this remedial action set aside on the basis of its unconstitutionality”.

Mkhwebane’s report into “allegations of maladministration, corruption, misappropriation of public funds and failure by the South African government to implement the CIEX report and to recover public funds from Absa Bank” was broadened this year to include a controversial remedial action.

READ: Governor strikes back: SARB has duty to protect rand

On Monday, she ordered the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services to initiate a process to change the Constitution “in pursuit of improving socio-economic conditions of the citizens of the republic”.

Mkhwebane said they must amend a paragraph in the Constitution that removes reference to “protect the value of the currency”.

In response, Parliament said: “The Public Protector’s remedial action essentially instructs a committee of Parliament to start a legislative process, prescribes to the institution on the policy that will inform the bill, the wording of the amendment of the Constitution’s section 224 and directs what constitutional provisions must inform the legislative process of the bill.

“Parliament believes that the remedial action, which is binding in terms of the law, usurps the powers of the institution under the Constitution. Section 57 of the Constitution empowers the Assembly to control its internal arrangements, proceedings and procedures.”

The SARB said on Tuesday that it was advised to bring urgent review proceedings to have the remedial action set aside. “The Reserve Bank has resolved to do so.

"The Reserve Bank has consulted its legal team and has been advised that the remedial action prescribed by the Public Protector falls outside her powers and is unlawful.”

Absa said on Wednesday it was approaching the court “due to numerous misrepresentations and factual inaccuracies which form the basis of the Public Protector's findings, and what we submit are the irrational and unreasonable legal conclusions in the report. The misconceptions and inaccuracies in the report are profound and damaging to Absa’s reputation.

“We have accordingly instructed our lawyers to immediately prepare an application to the High Court to have the report and its remedial actions set aside.

“We deny that Absa received R1.125bn by way of unlawful assistance and we firmly maintain our position that all of Absa’s obligations to the South African Reserve Bank were met in full by October 1995,” said Absa.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.15
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.64
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.38
+0.4%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.4%
Platinum
905.16
-2.0%
Palladium
1,006.63
+0.1%
Gold
2,154.73
-0.3%
Silver
24.92
-0.5%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,996
-0.4%
All Share
72,197
-0.3%
Resource 10
53,320
0.0%
Industrial 25
99,852
-0.6%
Financial 15
16,590
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders