Public Protector saddened by the passing of outgoing Auditor-General

Public Protector and Chairperson of the Forum for Institutions Supporting Democracy (FISD) Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane has expressed shock in the wake of news of the passing of colleague and outgoing Auditor-General, Mr. Kimi Makwetu.

In a statement early this evening, Mr. Makwetu’s office announced that he died in hospital after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer over two years ago.

Adv. Mkhwebane said Mr. Makwetu will be remembered for his courage in shining the spotlight on deep rooted governance problems plaguing the public sector, especially the local sphere of government.

She described him as a model servant of the public, who demonstrated unparalleled selflessness in the manner he discharged his duties even when he was battling a dread disease.

“As the FISD, we were just about to send him a token of our appreciation for the excellence with which he served the country as he was preparing to leave office and to wish him well for the future. Now we have to bid him a different type of farewell,” said Adv. Mkhwebane, conveying her condolences to Mr. Makwetu’s family, friends and colleagues.

“He still had a lot to offer. As it is, we had just learned that he was readying himself to offer his expertise at a global level with the recent announcement that he was going to serve in the United Nations’ Independent Advisory Audit Committee. His passing is a huge loss to the auditing profession, the struggle for good governance in the public sector and to the service of mankind.”

Mr. Makwetu is the second head of a member institution of the FISD in a month to pass on after the former Chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission, Prof. Daniel Plaatjies, who died in October.

The FISD is a structure constituted by independent institutions with a constitutional mandate to support and strengthen democracy including those established under Chapter 9 of the Constitution such as the Public Protector and the Auditor-General.