The ANC Youth League is concerned that if the Phala Phala saga is still hanging during the 2024 national and provincial elections, it would spell trouble for the governing party.
It is why the young lions want the issue to be speedily put to bed once and for all before the elections to improve the ANC’s fortunes.
This is according to youth league boss Collen Malatji, who was speaking to Sunday World Engage in a wide-ranging interview this week.
Malatjie believes that state agencies ceased with investigating the Phala Phala hot potato, which is about the theft and storage of foreign currency at the farm of President Cyril Ramaphosa, must do so with speed.
And if there are culprits found to be on the wrong side of the law, they should be arrested and prosecuted without delay.
But one thing is for sure, he charged, the ANC cannot afford to go to the all-important upcoming polls where the stakes are so high with the Phala Phala cloud lingering around.
“We are pushing that the Phala Phala matter must be resolved before the elections and closed,” Malatji said.
“I believe that it will be a big problem if it is not well-resolved and communicated.
“The ANC must communicate its stance on the matter once it has been resolved and must clarify South Africans on the Phala Phala issue. If not, we will have a big problem.”
Malatji said he was confident that Ramaphosa will emerge unscathed from the impending investigations by law enforcement.
“The independent public protector [Kholeka Gcaleka] has cleared the president on Phala Phala, and the SARS [SA Revenue Service] has also cleared the president.
“We are waiting for other institutions to come in, and if there was corruption, we will be the first to call for those who are said to be involved in corruption to be held accountable.”
The firebrand, who does not shy away from controversy, also rated Ramaphosa’s performance since taking office at the Union Buildings in 2018.
He believes that Ramaphosa deserves a 55% rating for stabilising what he found broken while he critiqued him for “moving slow on the transformation agenda and the empowerment of the youth”.
“I think he must move hard on that. If he fixes that, he would be classified among the best president’s we have ever had.”
- For more on this and other issues get your copy of Sunday World this weekend and visit Sunday World News on YouTube for the full interview premiering on September 24.
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