GOOD speech by Brett Herron,
GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
29 March 2022
In a litigious environment, statements by members of the National Assembly’s committee to determine the Public Protector’s fitness to hold office, and their political parties, are manna from heaven for those who may later wish to allege a pre-determined outcome.
The Section 194 Committee was established to inquire if the Public Protector should be impeached, and removed from office, based on a motion to Parliament alleging misconduct and/or incompetence.
The proceedings of the Committee rest on the “golden rules” of constitutional process, rather than a litigious or adversarial one, procedural fairness and rationality, and findings based on impartiality and objectivity.
At its meeting today, the Committee Chairperson already referred to the process to date as a “festival of lawyers’ letters”.
Addressing the meeting, GOOD Member of Parliament, Brett Herron, a lawyer, called on his colleagues and their bosses to act with restraint when commenting on the matter.
Deciding whether to impeach the Public Protector was sufficiently serious and unusual to demand of politicians that they act with unusual restraint and composure.
Party political impulses to make mileage from the inquiry will undermine it; if not now, then most certainly if the committee’s findings are taken on review, Herron said. Suggestions that committee members are biased could result in endless litigation.
The committee was established to investigate whether to impeach the Public Protector. Calls to suspend her pending the outcome of the investigation are not indicative of objectivity and impartiality.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samkelo Mgobozi, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0792315977 (WhatsApp)/0829684021 (calls)
Email: samm@forgood.org.za