Mkhwebane Ramaphpsa

Public protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Image via: Twitter

Public protector: Estina, CIEX whistle-blowers ‘part of plot to remove me’

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has lashed out against whistle-blowers’ claims in the media about her Estina and CIEX reports.

Mkhwebane Ramaphpsa

Public protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Image via: Twitter

Mkhwebane has come out guns blazing against claims in media reports by amaBhungane that she ordered a senior investigator in her office to remove information implicating ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane in her Vrede dairy farm project report.

One of the media reports stated how a State Security Agency official had provided the recommendation in Mkhwebane’s Bankorp-CIEX report that parliament amend the constitution to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank.

“These baseless #CIEX & #Vrede claims are by disgruntled current and ex-employees, some of whom are/were facing disciplinary action,” Mkhwebane said on Twitter.

Mkhwebane says employees facing disciplinary action

The public protector did not, however, give further details on who the “employees” were – only that some were facing disciplinary action. She also said it was part of a plot to have her removed from the Chapter 9 institution.

“The intention is to influence the mooted parliamentary process to remove me from office. I’ll respond substantively in due course.”

What was the Vrede dairy farm project report about?

Mkhwebane’s report looked into allegations that R200-million in taxpayers’ money, meant to fund an agricultural empowerment initiative in the Free State in 2012 – the Estina Dairy Project – was actually funnelled from the farm’s holding company, Estina, into several Gupta-linked accounts. – merely a pinnacle in the bigger state capture scandal.

The report, released in February 2018, implicated several government officials and business associates of the controversial Gupta family. However, Magashule and Zwane, who were the Free State premier and agriculture MEC respectively at the time, were essentially cleared of any wrongdoing.

Almost two years after the release of the report, News24 and amaBhungane have said a whistle-blower spilled the beans on the public protector and allege she instructed her investigators not to use information from the #GuptaLeaks – which are a series of e-mails which indicate the extent of undue influence the family had on the state.

Public protector ‘ordered’ removal of adverse findings

The whistle-blower, a senior staffer in Mkhwebane’s office who was involved in the investigation of the controversial dairy farm project, also claimed she ordered that no politician be implicated in her findings.

“We were accordingly forced to remove any adverse findings contained in the report against any politician, including Ace Magashule, the premier of the Free State at the relevant time, and Mosebenzi Zwane, who was the MEC for the Free State department of agriculture at the time”, the whistle-blower said in an affidavit.

It further reads: “On 8 February 8 2018, the investigation team was instructed to report to Advocate Mkhwebane’s boardroom for a meeting with her. During the investigation, Advocate Mkhwebane instructed us to remove material information relating to the investigation, including information relating to the inflation of goods and information relating to beneficiaries.”