Parliament has moved one step closer to finalising the process of selecting a successor to outgoing Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
This comes after the ad hoc committee to nominate the person to be appointed as public protector shortlisted eight candidates on Wednesday for the interviews.
The committee met after allowing an opportunity to the public and interested groups to comment on the CVs of 38 candidates.
However, two candidates, advocates Mukhali Thenga and Elizabeth Mthimkhulu withdrew their nominations, leaving the committee with a list of 36 candidates for the shortlisting.
Among the names the committee shortlisted were pension funds adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane, advocate Tseliso Thipanyane, advocate Lynne Marais, deputy public protector Kholeka Gcaleka, advocate Oliver Josie, advocate Tommy Ntsewa, magistrate Johannah Ledwaba and Professor Boitumelo Mmusinyane.
Both Lukhaimane and Thipanyane received five nominations, followed by Marais and Gcaleka.
Josie and Ntsewa received three nominations each while Ledwaba and Mmusinyane obtained two respectively.
The DA did not make a nomination, but said that it would voice its objections to some of the nominated candidates.
Al-Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks asked if there was 50/50 gender representation on the shortlisted candidates.
Hendricks said it was now time for a male to be the next public protector.
When told the numbers were even in terms of gender representation, Hendricks said: “I can live with that.”
While many parties – the ANC, DA, IFP and Freedom Front Plus – were either happy or satisfied with the shortlisted candidates, the EFF’s Yoliswa Yako said: “There is a name we are not fine with, which everybody knows.
“But we are not going to talk to that now.”
Yako was making reference to Gcaleka.
Gcaleka is not in its good books after she cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in her investigation into the Phala Phala scandal.
The party’s deputy leader Floyd Shivambu recently tweeted that Gcaleka would never be the public protector.
“The decision to appoint a public protector needs 2/3 of the National Assembly and Kholeka will never receive such! There are credible candidates in the final list-they will emerge,” Shivambu said in an apparent mistaking of a two thirds requirement for removal of a public protector.
The party has nominated Lukhaimane as its preferred next public protector.
After the names were adopted, committee chairperson Cyril Xaba said they would hold another meeting to prepare for the interviews and look at the questions, among other things.
“We thank all the people who participated up to this point, the public that nominated and commented on all the candidates.
“We appreciate the work done by Corruption Watch, which did a sterling job because they commented on almost all of them. The candidates have completed a questionnaire, which assisted the process,” Xaba said.
The candidates will be interviewed in that week of August 21-25, but indication was that some members the interviews should take place on August 23 and 24.
The committee has set aside two weeks for the screening of the candidates from August 1 and 18.
The shortlisted candidates will be subjected to suitability screening, reference checks and qualifications verification, among other processes.
The committee is expected to make its recommendation on its preferred candidate by August 31 to the National Assembly.
The successful candidate will be appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa for a non-renewable seven-year term when his or her nomination is supported by 60% of members in the National Assembly.
The term of the incumbent, Mkhwebane, who is under suspension while facing an inquiry into her fitness to hold office, comes to an end on October 14.
Cape Times