Parliament’s committee inquiring about advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office has heard her office spent almost R159m on “professional and consulting fees” from 2016 until the end of the 2022 financial year.
Of that, more than R146m was spent on legal fees, said evidence leader advocate Nazreen Bawa, who presented a schedule of the office’s court cases when the committee resumed on Thursday.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, acting for Mkhwebane, stressed the need for these numbers to be put in the proper context, saying that litigation is unpredictable, likening it to an “unruly horse”.
Bawa said the Absa/CIEX legal tussle cost the office more than R14m, including the litigation, tax bill and two legal opinions. It involved the employment of six different law firms and several junior and senior counsel, the evidence leader reported.
Mkhwebane’s legal challenges to parliament plus representations to the committee had cost more than R15m by the end of the most recent financial year, she said.
Bawa told the committee the “main drivers” of the R146m legal fees subtotal will be further detailed in a subsequent presentation to the committee. Legal services manager Thembinkosi Sithole assisted the committee as it crunched the numbers.
Mpofu intervened after the DA’s Kevin Mileham motivated for more information on professionals who “benefited” from the litigation pursued during Mkhwebane’s tenure.
GOOD MP Brett Herron took issue with Mileham’s choice of words, emphasising that attorneys and advocates render services, and are remunerated accordingly. The ANC’s Xola Nqola recommended that the committee take care to refer to payment for services rendered.
“Apart from sensationalism, there is no value to be derived,” said Mpofu. He complained about the numbers Bawa crunched in the morning sitting on Thursday.
“This evidence already I think is skirting on invading people’s privacy unnecessarily … there seems to be some zeal to invade people’s financial and professional issues,” he said.
Austerity measures
Of the 412 reports generated since Mkhwebane took office, said Bawa, 36 were taken on legal review. Mpofu emphasised the uncertain nature of taking matters to court.
In March 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled the public protector’s remedial action was binding. The determination, in the Nkandla matter, occurred under Mkhwebane’s predecessor, advocate Thuli Madonsela. The office anticipated an increase in legal challenges to reports after this decision.
“This public protector, when there was this escalation even though it was predicated by advocate Madonsela, introduced austerity measures to control the spend,” said Mpofu.
Mkhwebane’s decision to withdraw matters, excluding those set down, was admirably affected.
“Those austerity measures then obviously made a huge positive impact not only on the legal budget but on the financial performance of the entity as a whole,” said Mpofu.
“Correct,” replied Sithole.
This evidence already, I think, is skirting on invading people’s privacy unnecessarily.
— Advocate Dali Mpofu
With regard to the litigation over the section 194 committee and the absence of rules, Mpofu emphasised Mkhwebane’s efforts to resolve issues in the spirit of co-operative governance. He also pointed to absent figures on how much other parties, including parliament’s speaker, spent going to court.
“We don’t know how much public money was spent on those teams … it’s easy to just mention millions or billions or zillions without putting any context to the matter,” he said.
After Bawa and Mpofu’s submissions, MPs posed questions to Sithole. He said it was a misperception that Seanego Attorneys received the “lion’s share” of the office’s work.
Rather, he said, attorney Theo Seanego was commissioned to work on interlinking matters, such as those involving now public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, as he was familiar with the facts.
Sithole was grilled on his signing off on payments to disgraced lawyer Paul Ngobeni, who was briefed via Seanego Attorneys on the recommendations of Mkhwebane’s adviser Sibusiso Nyembe. A 2012 public protector report described Ngobeni as a fugitive from justice.
Yet the office later paid him for legal opinions and to pen media articles defending Mkhwebane. “For me, he was appointed to render an opinion,” said Sithole. An invoice flighted during the sitting included line items for legal consultations and drafting the press work.
Sithole said Nyembe “played a role” in the office selecting Ngobeni and recommended him. “In addition, he then wrote articles which were published,” said Sithole.
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