During the Parliamentary debate on Tuesday, as MPs prepared to vote on whether or not to adopt the Phala Phala report, GOOD Party’s Brett Herron called for the proceedings to be postponed.
Herron said the National Assembly finds itself at a crossroads.
He said it can either break away from the “culture of impunity” and hold the executive to account, or it “could fall again into its old habits”.
Vote to adopt Phala Phala report
However, he said the vote to decide whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should face an impeachment process should not go ahead until his review application has been completed.
Ramaphosa, earlier in December, filed papers at the Constitutional Court to review and set aside the Section 89 panel report.
“GOOD respects the right of the President to take the Independent Panel’s Report on review,” said Herron.
“It would be unfair and unreasonable to haul a sitting president before an impeachment committee while these legal questions remain unanswered.”
He said that the impeachment committee can proceed if Ramaphosa’s review fails.
Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, however, ruled that Herron’s motion should have been proposed earlier in the proceedings and declined his request.
Julius Malema
Earlier in the proceedings, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said he was “deeply disappointed in Ramaphosa”.
He said Ramaphosa’s reluctance to “allow inquiry into the activities at Phala Phala Farm are shocking and concerning”.
Moreover, Malema suggested Ramaphosa was linked to “criminal underworld activities” such as money laundering and “making money on the side”.
John Steenhuisen
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen compared Ramaphosa to former president Jacob Zuma.
He said the Nkandla scandal is no different to the to the Phala Phala scandal.
Steenhuisen said not many people in parliament believe that Ramaphosa had been truthful about the origin of the money or what he intended to do with it.
In other news – Halala! Ex-Minister Malusi Gigaba getting married for the third time
Former Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, Malusi Gigaba is set to get married for the third time, according to Zimoja.
The 51-year-old politician, who has also held office as the Minister of Public Enterprise, is said to have paid lobola for his Eswatini fiancée, Nomfundo Fakudze. The publication reports that Gigaba sent his uncles to the Kingdom of Eswatini in Manzini this past weekend. Learn More