The ANC Youth League has moved to defend embattled President Cyril Ramaphosa over the latest development pertaining to the saga of stolen dollars from the Phala Phala wild farm belonging to the head of state.
Youth League president Collen Malatji said the Phala Phala scandal is nothing like the Nkandla scandal, where public funds were used to upgrade the private home of former president Jacob Zuma.
According to Malatji, Ramaphosa made the correct decision by taking the parliament’s independent panel report on Phala Phala under review.
And because of the review, he continued, the impeachment committee, as directed by the apex court, must be on hold until the review process is complete.
President not guilty of wrongdoing
Speaking to media at the ANC headquarters in the Joburg CBD, Malatji said Ramaphosa had committed no wrongdoing and was well within his rights to take the panel report under review.
“There is nowhere where the president (Ramaphosa) is found guilty of wrongdoing. It is irresponsible to compare him with the old man (Zuma) from Nkandla, who used state resources through corrupt means to build for himself and overprice them to a point whereby we had to call a swimming pool a fire pool. It is not the same matter as Phala Phala,” said Malatji.
“There is no way that political parties that are led by people who are criminally arrested. The MK Party is led by a convict, and if you go to the EFF, it is led by another convict called Julius (Malema).
“So, why should South Africans believe convicts? We are not going to be told by convicts what to do. If they want to govern, they must contest elections and win.
“President Ramaphosa played an important role in drafting our constitution 30 years ago and he knows that he must respect the constitution of the country. That is why we will not behave like others and undermine the judiciary of the country.”
Malatji said Ramaphosa’s moral standing was unimpaired because taking the panel report on judicial review was well within the confines of the law.
Opportunists want Ramaphosa to resign
Ramaphosa, said Malatji, is well within his rights to want to go to court when he feels he has been treated unfairly by the independent panel report.
With that process now in place, there was nothing parliament could do to proceed with the directives of the constitutional court to establish an impeachment committee to process the panel report.
“The process of parliament must stop until the review is finalised because what is on review is the report that must be discussed in that impeachment process,” he said.
“As the youth league, we are saying parliament should not rush; they must wait for the president to exhaust the review process. If the courts determine that the panel’s decision is correct, then the impeachment process can resume.
“But for now, they must wait for the process of the review to be finalised. You cannot have two processes running concurrently speaking to the same issue because which report are you going to use in the impeachment committee if the panel report is being reviewed?
“The impeachment process must stop and allow the review process to conclude. What if the courts say the president is right? Then there will be nothing to discuss there in parliament.”
Malatji said calls for Ramaphosa to step down were driven by “opportunists” who are mainly opposition parties that want to assume state power through the backdoor.
- The ANC Youth League, led by Collen Malatji, defends President Cyril Ramaphosa amid the Phala Phala stolen dollars controversy, distinguishing it from the Nkandla scandal involving Jacob Zuma's corruption with public funds.
- Malatji supports Ramaphosa's decision to legally review the independent panel report on Phala Phala and calls for the suspension of the parliamentary impeachment process until the judicial review concludes.
- The Youth League asserts Ramaphosa committed no wrongdoing, criticizes opposition parties led by convicted individuals, and emphasizes respecting the constitution and judiciary.
- Malatji claims calls for Ramaphosa's resignation come from opportunistic opposition parties seeking power without winning elections.
- The ANC Youth League urges patience and due process, stating impeachment proceedings should only resume if the courts uphold the panel's findings against Ramaphosa.
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“President Ramaphosa played an important role in drafting our constitution 30 years ago and he knows that he must respect the constitution of the country.
Malatji said Ramaphosa's moral standing was unimpaired because taking the panel report on judicial review was well within the confines of the law.
Ramaphosa, said Malatji, is well within his rights to want to go to court when he feels he has been treated unfairly by the independent panel report.
“
“As the youth league, we are saying parliament should not rush; they must wait for the president to exhaust the review process. If the courts determine that the panel's decision is correct, then the impeachment process can resume.
“But for now, they must wait for the process of the review to be finalised. You cannot have two processes running concurrently speaking to the same issue because which report are you going to use in the impeachment committee if the panel report is being reviewed?
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Malatji said calls for Ramaphosa to step down were driven by “opportunists” who are mainly opposition parties that want to assume state power through the backdoor.
