Before she was suspended, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane had posed questions to the president, regarding the multimillion-dollar theft at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has missed the deadline to answer 31 questions posed to him by the Office of the Public Protector (PP), for a second time.
This time, he has been denied another extension.
“We confirm that the president had until July 18, 2022 to respond to the allegations letter of June 7, 2022 after his previous request to have the initial return date of June 22, 2022 extended. A request for a further extension has instead been filed. The request for a further extension has been denied and was communicated to the president on July 18, 2022,” the PP said.
Before she was suspended, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane had posed questions to the president regarding the multimillion-dollar theft at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
The EFF has been demanding Ramaphosa answer the questions, criticising the fact that he had initially been granted an extension.
The president has refused to provide any further comments on the “farmgate” matter and around when he would answer the questions.
“The Public Protector Rules, 2018 as amended (the Rules), which set out response protocols and time frames in respect of investigations, provide in Rule 23(2) (b) that where a state institution receives correspondence from the PPSA, including a request for information in respect of investigations of alleged breaches of the Executive Code of Ethics, the institution concerned must submit a written reply or written substantive reply within 14 days, except where the Public Protector specifies otherwise, as per the extension granted in this matter until July 18, 2022. The PPSA will therefore be invoking its subpoena powers in line with section 7(4) (a) of the Public Protector Act 23 of 1994.”
