Busisiwe's Big Test

The new public protector caused controversy, dismay and disbelief with her first major report. Here experts assess her actions

- Gabisile Ngcobo

SHE stepped into the office of one of South Africa’s biggest heroes, a woman who fearlessly exposed corruption and skulduggery in the corridors of power. So all eyes were on Busisiwe Mkhwebane when she was named Thuli Madonsela’s successor: would she take up the baton and continue to fight for fairness and transparency?

Less than a year as public protector, it seems Mkhwebane is pursuing quite a different agenda to Madonsela.

Even before her appointment she was accused of being a government spy and a favourite of President Jacob Zuma. Her first 100 days in office saw a purge of Madonsela’s staff, a failure to defend the former public protector’s state capture report and public criticism of her predecessor.

Now her first major report has stirred even more controversy – and allegations that Mkhwebane is more Gupta puppet than an investigator of injustice.

Her report into the Absa Bank apartheid-era loan from the Reserve Bank was met with criticism and disbelief from political commentators, economists and opposition parties alike.

To top it all, Mkhwebane is also seeking to change the Constitution to remove the Reserve Bank’s function of keeping inflation under control, and would change the function of the central bank – a move that saw the rand lose value.

We look at what’s been going on and ask experts what they make of it all.

THE ABSA BAILOUT BILLIONS

The public protector investigated an apparent failure by government to recover R1,125 billion loaned to Bankorp Limited, now Absa, by the Reserve Bank on the authority of the apartheid government.

Her findings were based on an investigation carried out by a British company, CIEX, which was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela government to look into apartheid-era looting of state coffers.