ANC NEC support puts Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidential campaign back on track

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who on Monday received the backing of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) in the battle to clear his name following damning findings by an independent panel, has mounted a legal challenge against the panel’s report.

Ramaphosa, who on Monday filed papers at the Constitutional Court as part of a bid to have the Section 89 independent panel report set aside, initiated the legal processes amid renewed support from the ANC top leadership structure, the NEC.

Briefing the media in Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo where the ANC NEC held its meeting to discuss the panel’s report, ANC acting secretary general, Paul Mashatile, said the party’s top leadership structure agreed that Ramaphosa should continue as both the president of the party and that of the country.

The NEC didn’t take a decision that the president should be recalled.

While there were NEC members who wanted the party leadership to dump Ramaphosa, in the end, Mashatile said it was agreed that Ramaphosa should be supported, particularly given that he was challenging the panel’s findings in court.

MPs meet regarding Phala Phala report

This as MPs meet today to debate the independent panel’s report recommending that Ramaphosa should face impeachment proceedings over his role in the Phala Phala robbery scandals where he has been accused of attempting to conceal the theft of more than $500 000 which allegedly took place at his
farm in 2020.

While the majority of ANC MPs are expected to come to his defence in today’s special sitting, opposition
MPs would be pushing for Parliament to adopt the panel’s report, which ruling party leaders have slammed as “flawed”.

In amongst other things, the panel found that Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution, broken the country’s anti-corruption laws and engaged in misconduct.

Despite some legal experts advising that the panel report was just the first step of the impeachment process, which has three stages, DA federal leader, John Steenhuisen, said the damage to Ramaphosa has already been done.

The Section 89 independent panel report into his many alleged wrongdoings in the matter of the theft of undeclared dollars hidden in a sofa on his Phala Phala game farm has left President Ramaphosa deeply compromised.

The DA is part of a forum of opposition parties which wants Parliament to go ahead and establish an
impeachment committee to investigate Ramaphosa.

For Parliament to approve the panel’s report and establish an impeachment committee, 50%+1 of the house’s 400 MPs should support the report.

As things stand, opposition parties have a collective 170 seats while the ANC has 230 — making it impossible for the opposition to achieve the 50%+1 threshold.

Should the impeachment parliamentary committee resolve that Ramaphosa should be removed, the resolution needs to be endorsed by two thirds of Parliament’s MPs.

Parliament’s MPs who want Ramaphosa to resign

In pushing for the matter to go to vote, the opposition was hoping that some ANC MPs would vote with the opposition.

ANC MPs who have called for Ramaphosa’s resignation include Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former Northwest premier, Supra Mahumapelo, Tourism minister, Lindiwe Sisulu and Pietermaritzburg-based ANC MP, Mervyn Dirks.

However, Mashitile said all ANC MPs were expected to “toe the line” and vote against the independent panel’s report.

But legal expert, Dr Llewellyn curlewis, said if Ramaphosa’s application was merely asking the court to
review the panel report, that might not be enough to stop MPs from debating the report.

It has to be accompanied by a separate application to interdict the debate. Otherwise, the debate will go ahead.
The panel’s report had put in limbo Ramaphosa’s campaign to be elected ANC president for a second term.

However, the support he received from the NEC in Monday’s meeting would boost his campaign for re election at the ANC national elective conference scheduled to take place next week at Johannesburg’s
Nasrec Expo.

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