Cape Town – The Parliament’s vote on the appointment of a new public protector has been delayed again, with the date to be determined in October.
This decision was made during a meeting of the National Assembly’s programme committee on Thursday.
During the meeting, it was announced that the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), originally scheduled for presentation by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on October 25, has been rescheduled to November 1.
The reason for the delay is the Inter-Parliamentary Union meetings in Angola, which many MPs will be attending. No objections were raised regarding the MTBPS postponement.
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“I had discussions with the minister, we’ve agreed and mandated us to go ahead. We agreed we have the MTBPS on November 1 and it will be at the [Cape Town] City Hall,” National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told the committee, according to Times Live.
The vote to appoint a new public protector, set for September 21, was postponed due to the unavailability of the city hall, which is the preferred venue for the vote.
Acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka is the preferred candidate to replace Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who was removed from office following adverse findings of a fitness to hold office inquiry.
This is the second time in a row that the appointment of Gcaleka has been put on hold by parliament.
Initially, her appointment was slated for the same day as the vote to remove her predecessor, Mkhwebane. However, this was rescheduled to September 21, when members of the national legislature were expected to gather and cast their votes on the ad hoc committee’s recommendation to approve Gcaleka as the next Public Protector, IOL said.
Gcaleka’s appointment requires the endorsement of 60% of the 400 MPs, and parliament intends for the vote to be conducted in person.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
