MBOMBELA – As the sick leave of premier Mr David Mabuza approaches its second full month, a legal expert says there is nothing compelling the government to disclose the nature of his ailment.
Mabuza was placed on sick leave on September 8, a day before safety and security MEC Mr Vusi Shongwe was sworn in as acting premier. He was again sworn in on Friday last week for a period lasting until November 13.
Officially Mabuza is suffering from fatigue due to overwork. Updates on his condition have been few and far between.
- Read more: Premier’s office remains mum on illness
Shongwe said he had been booked off on doctors’ orders, and it was impossible to predict when he might return to work. The premier’s office has maintained that Mabuza’s condition was his private business.
A legal expert, who didn’t want his name mentioned for professional reasons, agreed from a legal viewpoint.
“There is a balance between the right to access information and the right to privacy. Legally, it is not unlawful for the state to withhold information regarding the premier’s health.”
“Politically, it seems unbecoming of a government to withhold such information and citizens are right to take issue with the province’s failure to provide information on the premier’s health,” he said.
Opposition parties are also complaining about his indefinite sick leave.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have tried to have the matter debated in the legislature after the party’s provincial leader Mr Collen Sedibe’s motion that Mabuza be replaced had been defeated in the house.
- Also read: EFF wants absent premier gone
The legal expert explains that the Constitution does not expressly regulate the terms of acting premiers.
“Section 131 provides merely that the acting premier must be an MEC or the Speaker, and has all the powers, responsibilities and functions of the premier.
“The legislature may remove the premier with a two-thirds vote on the grounds of ‘inability to perform the functions of office’, but places no obligation on the legislature to do so,” he says.
DA provincial leader Mr James Masango said having a permanent acting premier was an insult to the interests of Mpumalanga residents.
“The time has come for the ANC to show decisive leadership and instead of burdening the province with an acting premier, they must stand up and support the opposition parties’ call for the appointment of a new premier,” he said in a statement this week.
“While the DA sympathises with Mabuza and wishes him a speedy recovery, the province cannot continue to function under the current level of uncertainty.”
The lawyer concluded, “If we assume that the state has records regarding the premier’s health, Section 11 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act provides (Paia) holds that access to those records must be granted unless an exception in Chapter 4 applies. Section 34 (under said chapter) provides that personal information of a third party may not be released unless that individual is a public official and the information relates to the position or functions of the individual. It is possible that the information could be secured under Paia, but not likely.”
