Disgraced Public Protector must pay her fringe benefits tax

9 November 2022

Suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has been living rent-free within the luxurious Bryntirion Estate, which includes lavish residences for the President and cabinet ministers, since February 2017.

Under normal circumstances she would not have been entitled to this elite accommodation, funded by taxpayers, but after a dubious risk assessment, she was permitted to enjoy this luxury estate.

Despite her suspension, the disgraced public protector has continued to enjoy free accommodation at taxpayer expense to which she was not entitled. After she was suspended earlier this year she relocated to another taxpayer-funded property, a luxurious three bedroom duplex adjacent to Bryntirion, for which the office of the public protector paid R11 000 in monthly rent to the Department of Public Works.

The office of the public protector has announced that it will terminate the lease agreement for this free accommodation.

Although their action has taken far too long, we welcome this development and encourage steps to be taken against Mkhwebane to hold her personally responsible for this wasteful expenditure.

In the face of upward spiralling food and cost of living prices, Mkhwebane’s actions highlight how an unworthy public servant has blatantly displayed her contempt for the very citizens she was sworn to serve.

The DA will write to SARS to request that they ensure she pays the fringe benefits tax on the free accommodation that she has enjoyed at the expense of hard working South African households who are facing a daily battle to put enough food on the table.

Issued by Dion George, DA Shadow Minister of Finance, 9 November 2022