Calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down over the Phala Phala saga are premature, according to ANC ally Cosatu.
The trade union federation also called on ANC factions to desist from using the parliamentary process into the matter as proxy in the fight for positions in the top six and national executive committee (NEC), as the ruling party prepares for its elective conference in Nasrec from December 16-20.
In a statement, Cosatu further said it is only fair for Ramaphosa to be given space with his legal team to scrutinise the Section 89 independent panel of experts report, which found that the president may have violated the constitution.
“We believe that the calls for the president to step aside are premature considering that the report is yet to be subjected to scrutiny and has not been processed and finalised. It is only fair and just for him to be given an opportunity to read and dissect the report with his legal team to ensure that in the end justice prevails,” Cosatu said.
“We urge the members of the ANC not to be tempted to use this ongoing and incomplete process to opportunistically fight their internal battles in the build-up to the ANC’s 55th national elective conference.”
The statement came after Cosatu held the last meeting of its central executive committee, the federation’s highest decision-making body between its elective congresses.
It commended Ramaphosa for cooperating with various investigations over the theft of millions of US dollars at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in February 2020, including a probe by the Hawks and the Office of the Public Protector.
“Parliament should be allowed to play its oversight role without any outside intrusion. We will allow both the president and the ANC to engage with and respond to this report.
“As an ally of the ANC, we intend to allow the organisation to internally debate this matter without any interference and engage the president himself to hear his side of the story, because this will have an impact on the country’s stability,” Cosatu said.
The National Assembly has since postponed the debate and the vote for the adoption of the report from this afternoon to next Tuesday, to allow for the crucial gathering to take place physically and for the vote to be held manually.
Ramaphosa survived another onslaught from his detractors during meetings of the party’s national working committee and NEC, which took place at the weekend.
The party’s NEC resolved that its MPs should vote against the adoption of the report, which was released on Wednesday last week.
“We commend the president for voluntarily cooperating with parliament and relevant state institutions on this issue. We have utmost confidence in our constitutional processes and in the rule of law.”
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