Cape Town - Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has told the Section 194 Committee into her fitness to hold office that it should not rely on the judgment reviewing and setting aside her report on the so-called SARS rogue unit.
The high court had found that Mkhwebane not only failed in the exercise of her duties, but displayed bias against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and former SARS commissioner Ivan Pillay.
The court had listed nine reasons, among other things, that she failed to engage with the findings of the Nugent Commission that probed the affairs of SARS.
Testifying before the inquiry on Thursday while being led by her counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, Mkhwebane denied she either ignored or did not engage with the Nugent report.
SARS had in a response to her questions referred her to the Nugent report, which she incorporated in her own report, she confirmed.
“It is not true that I ignored it. It seems they (full bench of the high court) never read this report,” she said.
Asked to comment on the court finding that she did not engage with the Nugent report, Mkhwebane said it was very concerning.
Her report, which was part of the Rule 53 record, was before the judges when they adjudicated, Mkhwebane said.
“I was wrongly accused by the three judges and hence one of the judges, Judge Baqwa, who was a former public protector, should have at least checked what the report is saying and given himself some time to read the report.
“Nugent was not investigating and SARS informed us about Nugent and it is mentioned in the report,” she said.
Mkhwebane agreed with Mpofu that the judges could have not been aware that in her report she referred to Nugent as a commission or its proper name.
“They should have asked my legal representatives. They were arguing about the matter and I was not there,” she said.
She said the inquiry provided her with an opportunity to clarify things.
“I hope they are also listening that this is all what we did and we never had ulterior motives,” she said.
The public protector said she had in her report taken into consideration SARS’ responses on whether they acted within the bounds of legislation and the constitution.
“The committee should not rely on this (judgment) because I show the committee directly from the report and even show the public, and hence I say even the judges and the minister see what is referred to.
“There was no bias of the investigators. The investigator was having all the evidence, analysed it and when it was brought to me, I was happy and they definitely incorporated the evidence and the response of SARS," she said.
She pointed to an extract from the Nugent report she had quoted in her report “Commission on Tax Administration and Governance Final Report under the heading so-called rogue unit”.
Mkhwebane urged the committee when they adjudicate on her fitness to hold office to read the report and understand why they came to a particular conclusion.
“It is a conclusion based on facts and evidence before us and what the law says,” she said.
Cape Times