News24.com | EFF wants to join Mkhwebane\'s defense against Gordhan\'s court bid on \'rogue unit\' report

EFF wants to join Mkhwebane's defense against Gordhan's court bid on 'rogue unit' report

2019-07-11 19:55

Sesona Ngqakamba

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan. (Yunus Mohamed/Photo24)

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan. (Yunus Mohamed/Photo24)

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The EFF has instructed its lawyers to join in the defence of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane against the urgent bid filed by Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan to interdict remedial actions in a report released by her on Friday last week.

Gordhan, filed papers in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, seeking the court to halt the Public Protector's office from taking any action to enforce the remedial action on Mkhwebane's report related to the so-called SARS "rogue unit".

Mkhwebane had recommended action be taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Speaker of the National Assembly Thandi Modise, State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi and National Commissioner of Police General Kehla Sitole.

"We are however surprised that Gordhan has lodged an urgent interdict seeking to stop implementation of the Public Protector's remedial action. This is because he did not do the same with regards to the report of the PP [Public Protector] before and its remedial actions were still never implemented by president [Cyril] Ramaphosa," the party's spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement on Thursday.

Ndlozi added that remedial actions relating to Gordhan seemed to have never received a positive response from Ramaphosa.

"Nevertheless, we also cannot sense any urgency related to this matter, except Gordhan's bloated egoism of thinking he is above the law and must always receive some special treatment from our legal system," he said.

Among other issues stated in the court papers, Gordhan is asking the court to declare that "the Public Protector and advocate Mkhwebane personally acted in breach of their constitutional duties to be independent and to exercise their powers and perform their functions without fear, favour or prejudice".

According to court papers, which News24 has seen, the urgent application may be heard on July 23.

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