South Africa parliament approves new nominee for Public Protector

South Africa’s parliament has approved Busisiwe Mkhwebane as the country’s next Public Protector.

The parliament approved the nomination of the 46-year-old lawyer whose most recent job was with the State Security Agency (SSA), with 263 votes in favour, 79 against and 1 abstention.

The opposition Democratic Alliance according to CNBC Africa, declined to Mkhwebane her due to her work with the SSA which has oversight responsibility for civilian intelligence operations.

The opposition party believes her association with the SSA could prevent her from taking on cases implicating senior government officials, CNBC Africa reported.

Mkhwebane has also worked as a director at the Home Affairs office and also served as an immigration official in China.

With the parliamentary approval secured, Busisiwe’s name will now be submitted to president Jacob Zuma for his assent which reports say is highly likely as she has the overwhelming backing of the ruling ANC.

The president’s approval will pave way for Busisiwe Mkhwebane to replace Thuli Madonsela whose seven-year non-renewable term comes to an end in October.

Madonsela has been highly praised for investigating major scandals in South Africa including one involving president Jacob Zuma’s use of state funds to renovate his private residence.

Local NGO, Corruption Watch, which lauded parliamentary committee that recommended Mkhwebane has said it is satisfied “that the candidate got the job on merit and not for any other reason”.