PUBLIC Protector Thuli Madonsela is certain the integrity of the final report into security upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence has not been compromised despite the "poisoned environment" surrounding it.
Ms Madonsela hit back on Wednesday after the African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday came out fighting, urging her to release her report with "extreme urgency" or risk being accused of playing politics.
Her office was also accused of leaking the report to the Mail & Guardian, which published details of its contents last week.
Ms Madonsela has been hauled to court by the government and received the brunt of the anger of the ANC’s allies over her handling of the matter.
Responding to questions on whether the report would have any integrity after the controversy surrounding it, she said that she thought so. Its integrity depended on whether the analysis of the legal and regulatory framework contained in it was sound.
It also rested on whether any other public protector, beside herself, would come to the same conclusion, whatever that might be. "I don’t see any integrity being compromised," Ms Madonsela said.
"It is a factual inquiry."
But she admitted the "poisoned environment" was problematic. "There’s hard feelings," Ms Madonsela said.
While she did not feel "under attack", she was aware there was "heightened opportunity for misunderstanding" over the report. She moved to assure the public that she had no role in politics, nor had any interest in it.
"The public protector has no role in politics and no place to advise or influence people of South Africa to choose the party they want to govern them," Ms Madonsela told a media briefing in Pretoria.
"I have no interest in interfering. I assure the people of South Africa that I have never interfered with their right to choose (who governs) them."
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had expressed concern on Tuesday that the Nkandla matter was "festering" in the public domain, which affected the image of the president and the party.
Ms Madonsela said she agreed with Mr Mantashe that she had no business dabbling in politics. But she believed Mr Mantashe was probably not briefed properly, because his statement that she violated the rules was untrue.
Ms Madonsela said she had never intended that the report would be released in March, as Mr Mantashe had suggested that she would. She was sticking to the timelines she had set out for the investigation.
On Tuesday evening she had received names of official security experts from the Police Ministry, contacted them and hoped to meet them tomorrow," Ms Madonsela said.
She expects the final report to be concluded by the second week of next month.
Ms Madonsela denied that the leak of the report emanated from her office. "I don’t know who leaked the report," she said.
"From where I sit, I have no reason to suspect that the leak was from my office."
The report had been with her office since March this year and had not leaked in all that time. An electronic copy of the report, with passwords, was given to the security cluster ministers.
Ms Madonsela said ministers themselves had admitted to giving the report to officials. An article in Independent Newspapers publications, published ahead of the Mail & Guardian piece, also on the Nkandla report, quoted two senior government sources as the root of its information.
"If the Independent Newspapers were telling the truth ... than that’s the evidence you need ... that the leak came from the security cluster," Ms Madonsela said.
The ANC "reminded" the public in a statement on Wednesday that "there was no involvement in anyway whatsoever of the government security and justice cluster in these reports", the party said.
"Our view and our take is that the final responsibility rests with her office on any leakage of incomplete investigations."
Ms Madonsela hoped to find common ground with the ANC and would meet the party to do so. The ANC yesterday welcomed her intention to meet the party and would await her invite.
Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said yesterday she would "absolutely" go ahead with the move to impeach Mr Zuma. The public protector’s report on the Nkandla upgrades provided prima facie grounds for doing so.
- BDLive
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