As the storm weathers over the Phala Phala scandal, President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his slot at the International Anti-Corruption Summit scheduled for Friday.
Ramaphosa was expected to deliver a keynote address at the summit hosted by the Public Service Commission in partnership with the UN in South Africa and Unisa.
The Government Communication and Information Service confirmed on Thursday that the president will make an appearance at the prestigious event as a “keynote speaker”.
However, according to Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, the president will not attend, because he is expected to be at the ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Nasrec near Soweto.
“The president is attending the NEC meeting,” said Magwenya.
Asked if the president could not move around the items in his diary to enable some flexibility, Magwenya failed to respond.
It is not the first time that the Phala Phala farm saga has caused a clash in the president’s diary. On December 1, after the Section 89 independent panel released its findings, the presidency cancelled two important engagements as opposition parties intensified calls for Ramaphosa to step down.
Ramaphosa wrote to the National Council of Provinces to request the postponement of his appearance to answer questions relating to what government is doing to address the ongoing loadshedding.
Magwenya, who was also scheduled to hold his weekly briefing, also cancelled.
The two postponements came after it emerged that the NEC will convene a special meeting to deliberate on the panel’s report, which found that the president may be guilty on a number of violations of the constitution.
At a meeting last week, the NEC decided to take the matter to its national working committee for further deliberations.
On Monday, the NEC threw its weight behind the president’s Constitutional Court bid to have the report set aside and resolved that the ANC MPs should vote against the adoption of the Section 89 impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa.
Also read: Future of embattled Ramaphosa in the spotlight again
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