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Ramaphosa’s day of truth beckons as independent panel prepares to hand over report

Ramaphosa’s day of truth beckons as independent panel prepares to hand over report
Queenin Masuabi
By Queenin Masuabi
29 Nov 2022
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The Independent Panel looking into the Phala Phala matter will officially hand over its report on Wednesday 30 November. The panel was asked to determine whether there was a case for impeachment of the President and as such this report could have bearing on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s political future.

The Section 89 Independent Panel has confirmed that it has completed its work in regard to probing the Phala Phala saga and will hand over the final report to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. 

The report is being handed over just weeks before the ANC's elective conference to be held mid-December and where Ramaphosa is hoping to secure a second term as ANC president.

In a letter seen by Daily Maverick written and signed by the panel’s head, retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo to Mapisa-Nqakula states that the panel is on track to hand deliver its report on 30 November 2022. 

“Given the huge public interest in the report, and in particular, that the panel complies with the extended deadline, we have considered it necessary for the handover of the report to take place in public,” according to Ngcobo.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-11-12-ramaphosa-reveals-to-anc-nec-how-much-money-was-stashed-at-his-phala-phala-farm/

The panel was appointed after African Transformation Leader Vuyo Zungula launched a motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa because of his involvement in the Phala Phala forex scandal. Speaking to Daily Maverick, he said he was expecting that the report would release adverse findings against Ramaphosa.

“The evidence that has been submitted clearly shows there is prima facie evidence. We hope the report will speak to those facts regarding paid work, risk of conflict of interest, and unlawful instruction handed.

“The report is not expected to say the president must be impeached. It’s expected to say, based on the evidence at hand, it will be worth it for parliament to look into the matter. We believe the panel has all the evidence to come to that conclusion,” he said. 

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party was “looking forward to the report being handed over and will study it carefully”.

Read on Daily Maverick: How to impeach a president – Ramaphosa case puts new rules to the test in South Africa

During a press briefing on Monday, Steenhuisen was adamant that the DA would leave no stone unturned regarding the matter. He said the party would be calling for an ad hoc committee to be formed in case the panel does not find that Ramaphosa was involved in any wrongdoing.

“A Section 89 panel is far narrower than an ad hoc committee’s job. An ad hoc committee can inquire into the full range of issues there. All the Section 89 inquiry is tasked with doing is seeing whether there’s a prima facie case of a process of impeachment,” he said.






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“The correct procedure would have been for Parliament to initiate an ad hoc committee to call the President and other role-players before Parliament to assess the evidence. The concern is that the panel might say these are untested allegations and the prima facie test has not been met and that there is a need for the other agencies to complete their investigations,” Steenhuisen said.

The panel which comprises Ngcobo, retired high court judge Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello was given 30 days in which to determine whether there are grounds to form a committee which would determine Ramaphosa’s fate. 

The panel was supposed to make their submission earlier this month however they requested an extension, which they were granted, to complete the report. The extension meant that the matter would not be discussed in Parliament this year — paving the way for Ramaphosa to stand for a second term as ANC president. This was because the report is now set to be released at the end of November, with Parliament scheduled to go on recess the next day.

 

However, after dissatisfaction from other parties, the parliamentary programming committee decided to push back the recess date to allow the report to be discussed by MPs on 6 December.

All parties represented in Parliament were given the opportunity to make submissions to the panel while the president provided a written submission.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-08-02-cyril-ramaphosa-itching-to-speak-about-phala-phala-robbery-says-gungubele/

The Phala Phala matter came to the fore when former spy boss Arthur Fraser alleged earlier in 2022 that Ramaphosa was involved in illegal activities surrounding a burglary at his farm. He claimed Ramaphosa had breached the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, and that large undisclosed sums of US dollars were removed from the Limpopo farm by burglars.

Instead of reporting the matter to the police, Ramaphosa has been accused of having secretly instructed the head of the police’s Presidential Protection Unit, Major-General Wally Rhoode, to investigate the matter. Rhoode’s investigation led to the belief that the perpetrators were linked to a domestic worker at the farm.

Fraser alleged that the suspects were caught, kidnapped and interrogated, and he believed crimes of defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping and money laundering were committed. Ramaphosa is also alleged to have paid off suspects, including his domestic workers, R150,000 each to not reveal the incident to anyone after the offenders had been traced and apprehended. DM

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