Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has stuck to her guns and said she stands by her Phala Phala report that cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said this week neither Ramaphosa nor Phala Phala were not legally entitled to the dollars found at the farm.
Gcaleka said their role was not to investigate the sale of buffalo in Phala Phala, but issues that involve public administration.
She said in their report that was clarified.
She said they put in a lot of work to investigate Phala Phala.
While the law requires that investigations must be completed within 30 days, there was nothing wrong if it goes beyond that if proper procedures were followed, she said.
The Phala Phala investigation took a year for the Public Protector to finalise.
Gcaleka was appearing before the National Assembly’s ad hoc committee on Thursday, when she was questioned about her report on Phala Phala.
She was the last candidate to be interviewed by the ad hoc committee on the appointment of the new Public Protector.
EFF MP Omphile Maotwe asked Gcaleka if she stood by her report given the findings of the SARB.
Gcaleka said she stands by her report.
“The report by the Reserve Bank is that there was no concluded sale between the buyer and the seller. Our report and our investigation did not investigate the sale, because we do not have the powers to do so. It is a private matter that does not fall within the ambit of the Public Protector.
“Our role and our mandate is to investigate state affairs. Yes, I stand by it because we did not say it is a sale. We did not confirm there was a legal sale, which took place. We worked on what was before us. But ours was to deal with the issues that involve public administration, which were regulated in terms of the Executive Ethics Members’ Act and not the sale or to confirm whether there was a sale or not, or whether the sale took the form of being perfected or finalised. That is not in our mandate, That is not what we investigated,” said Gcaleka.
She said when the investigation started, she allowed the investigators to do their work without fear or favour.
They had to ensure that they gather the necessary evidence.
The Phala Phala report by Gcaleka has been taken on review by the ATM.
The EFF has threatened to take the SARB on legal review as well.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics