The fate of President Cyril Ramaphosa now lies with the members of the ANC national executive committee, which is meeting on Friday to discuss his future as pressure mounted on him to step down following the release of a report into the Phala Phala saga.
Sparks are expected to fly when the ruling party’s top brass meet this afternoon at the Nasrec Expo Centre to mull over the recommendations of a damning section 89 report that concluded that Ramaphosa may have seriously violated the Constitution through his conduct when handling the theft of foreign currency at his Limpopo farm.
Ramaphosa has thus far survived attempts to oust him through the NEC meetings for the Phala scandal, which happened in February 2020.
However, the independent expert panel, led by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, changed the battleground in the run up to the ANC’s elective conference in just over two weeks.
The Phala Phala matter has become the proxy for the battle for the soul of the ANC, which is expected to reach a crescendo at the elective conference from 16-20 December at the same venue where today’s NEC meeting is happening.
Yesterday, Ramaphosa’s supporters sprung to his defence after calls intensified from inside and outside the organisation for the president to resign as both party leader and state president.
Cabinet ministers and presidential hopefuls Lindiwe Sisulu and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma led the charge against Ramaphosa, calling on him to fall on his sword.
The duo is expected to be on the forefront of an onslaught against Ramaphosa this afternoon.
But one of Ramaphosa’s ardent supporters, Oscar Mabuyane, chairperson of the ANC in the Eastern Cape, said those who wanted Ramaphosa to quit were jumping the gun.
Mabuyane said this was the most difficult time for the ANC and Ramaphosa.
“But those calling for his resignation are jumping the gun because the panel was only advising the Speaker of the National Assembly [Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula]. There are processes that are supposed to unfold in parliament. It’s when those processes have taken place that the president can be removed from the office.”
He added Ramaphosa has cooperated with all investigations into the farm burglary and has always been willing to subject himself to ANC processes.
“Step aside is the ANC process which is strictly regulated for people who have been charged or advised to do so by the ANC integrity commission when there are serious findings against them,” said Mabuyane.
The NEC meeting is expected to give the party’s caucus members in parliament an instruction on how to vote should adoption of the report be put to a vote due to Ramaphosa not resigning.
It comes several weeks after former President Thabo Mbeki implored the leadership of the ANC to discuss the implications of the outcome of the work of the independent panel before it released its report.
“Our president is under a lot of pressure. I am talking about President Ramaphosa… around this matter of Phala Phala farm. There are criminal investigations going on. Parliament has its own processes. The Reserve Bank has done what it wants to do… What relevance does that all have to the leadership of the ANC that will come out of Nasrec at the end of the year, or is it entirely irrelevant?
“What happens if they (the panel) say he has got a case to answer? What do we do?” Mbeki asked.
Mbeki was speaking at the meeting of the Strategic Dialogue group, just days after the panel started its work.
Last night, it emerged that Ramaphosa was still consulting on whether to resign or not in the wake of a damning report into Phala Phala.
As the country hung on a knife’s edge, expecting to be addressed by Ramaphosa, his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Thursday night that president was still consulting with those close to him and stakeholders such as his party the ANC and its alliance the SACP.
Magwenya’s address came after yet another dramatic day when calls for Ramaphosa to step down increased. The presidency – Magwenya – yesterday cancelled a weekly briefing and Ramaphosa’s appearance before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as the president continued to process the report and the political fallout deepened.
The panel found that Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution by failing to report the theft that happened at his farm and abusing his office by going after suspects alleged to have helped themselves to more than $800 000 that was stashed in a sofa.
Magweya said Ramaphosa was still considering options before making a decision.
“The president appreciates the urgency of this issue; the president apricates the enormity of this issue, what it means for the country, the stability of government. He is still processing the report, but in that exercise, he is also engaging a number of role players and stakeholders,” he said
“We are in an unprecedented and extraordinary moment as a constitutional democracy as a result of the report. Therefore, whatever the decision the president makes, the decision has to be informed by the best interest of the country and that decision cannot be rushed and cannot be taken in haste,” he added.
Among those Ramaphosa was consulting is his party the ANC and its alliance partners the SACP and Cosatu.
Magwenya’s update came as rumour swirled that Ramaphosa had indicated to those close to him that he is calling it quits.
One of his close allies said: “When we spoke to him in the morning he said he was resigning, this whole thing angered him.”
However, it has emerged that some leaders from provinces had convinced Ramaphosa to halt his resignation pending the ANC NEC meeting and consultation with stakeholders.
Yesterday, the EFF slammed Ramaphosa for not attending his question-and-answer session in the NCOP, saying he is operating like a fugitive.
“Ramaphosa is compelled by the Constitution to account to Parliament, and he cannot avoid these obligations simply because of his cowardice, and that he has been revealed as a scoundrel. Ramaphosa has now not only violated the Constitution, but he has spat in the face of millions of
South Africans who deserve accountability through Parliament,” a statement reads
“The EFF cautions Ramaphosa and advises him that he cannot hide forever. His best course of action remains immediate resignation, because he will never know peace in any sitting of Parliament because the EFF will never allow a money launderer, kidnapper, torturer and
constitutional delinquent to address the people of this country. Ramaphosa has forfeited the privilege of being a President, and no amount of running away will rescue him,” it adds.
For its part, the DA has called for early elections.
“Now is the time to stand up and be counted. The Democratic Alliance calls for a national election – not one involving 4000 delegates at an ANC conference, but one that gives all South Africans the opportunity to determine their future. A future free of corruption, a future with jobs, a future for our children,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said.
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