Motlanthe warns Cyril
● A president should be unimpeachable ● Silence gives rise to speculation, suspicion ● President must take ANC into confidence
● Former president Kgalema Motlanthe has warned that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to give a clear public explanation of the Phala Phala scandal is damaging the presidency.
Motlanthe, one of the ANC’s most respected leaders, said growing speculation about what happened at Ramaphosa’s game farm, where a large amount of foreign currency was stolen, was “not good” as it cast “doubt and suspicion” around the president.
The theft was first revealed by former spy boss Arthur Fraser, who laid criminal charges against the president. The charges, which include kidnapping, bribery and defeating the ends of justice, are being investigated by the Hawks. The matter is also being probed by the South African Reserve Bank, the South African Revenue Service and the public protector.
Parliament has instituted a section 89 inquiry panel, following a motion by African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula for Ramaphosa’s removal. Ramaphosa has until today to respond to questions posed by the inquiry, chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Motlanthe said Ramaphosa’s refusal to provide a full public explanation “communicates a certain message”.
“It gives rise to all manner of speculations, views and suspicions … You need, as a president,
as an executive head of state, as they say, to be unimpeachable. If doubt sets in, and suspicion sets in, and all manner of speculation arises, it’s not good.”
He said the ANC national executive committee (NEC) deserved to know details of what happened so it would be better equipped to respond to the outcome of ongoing investigations into the matter.
Ramaphosa has repeatedly refused to
publicly answer questions about whether he broke the law in regard to the stashes of US dollar bills that were stolen from his farm in 2020.
In the Sunday Times interview, Motlanthe defended the right of former president Thabo Mbeki to ask questions about the Phala Phala scandal, after some ANC leaders criticised Mbeki for suggesting that the governing party should begin to discuss what would happen if it is found that Ramaphosa did indeed have a case to answer.
In a speech in Johannesburg last month, Mbeki said Ramaphosa was facing increased pressure that could affect the ANC’s forthcoming leadership conference. He said the ANC needed to ensure that credible leadership emerged from the conference.
A day after Mbeki spoke, former president Jacob Zuma slammed Ramaphosa in a public address, accusing him of corruption and treason in connection with the Phala Phala scandal.
Motlanthe said it was concerning that not even members of the NEC, the governing party’s highest decision-making body, had been briefed by the president about Phala Phala.
“Not even members of the NEC have a clue what is involved because when they met [Ramaphosa] he said to them he was going to present himself to the integrity commission and he will explain there.
“So they are waiting for the integrity commission. I don’t know whether he went and what he said to the integrity commission. So NEC members know as much as you and me know. It’s what they read and what they see on television. That in itself creates a problem,” he said.
Motlanthe, who became caretaker president when Mbeki was recalled by the ANC in September 2008, is the latest senior figure in the party to express concern about the scandal that is jeopardising Ramaphosa’s position as ANC leader a few weeks before the party elects a new leadership.
He said provincial leaders from Limpopo and Gauteng had confronted Mbeki about his comments. But he said he doubted if these leaders had a full understanding of the party’s rules on “step aside”.
“The step-aside rule says if you’re charged by a court of law for any serious crime, regardless of the position you hold you must step aside so that you go and clear your name and you can only come back when you have cleared your name. The rationale behind that is that your problems must not be imposed on the organisation.
“Put differently, your problems must not bring the organisation into disrepute. Now if you understand that then you will also understand that when your president is being investigated by five agencies, then at least as an organisation you need to know the facts around that or [have] a version.
“What president Mbeki was saying is ‘Look, you must discuss [Phala Phala] because all these investigations are going to come to some conclusion at some point. And if you don’t discuss, how are you going to react to whatever manner these investigations are concluded in, what are you going to say?’
“So they say to him in response — of course they include all of us —‘Why do you open your mouth, just shut up.’”
Defending Mbeki’s right to express his opinion, Motlanthe said: “The price of freedom is vigilance. You can’t have a situation where people have no right to speak. If you do an analysis of the economy of the country or the state of the nation, it’s not an attack on any individual. It’s an objective assessment.
“Those who are politically conscious will know that the ability to criticise yourself enables you to accept criticism from others. But if you don’t have the ability to self-critique, of course you will regard any criticism, constructive or otherwise, as an attack.”
Ramaphosa has admitted that a burglary took place at Phala Phala. In his response to the public protector, he is believed to have said the dollar stash was the proceeds of the sale of a buffalo. He has also dismissed Fraser’s allegation that the thieves were traced and bribed to keep quiet about the matter. But he has refused to provide more information to MPs or journalists and the amount stolen remains in dispute.
Ahead of the opening of leadership nominations for the ANC’s elective conference, Motlanthe, as head of the party’s electoral committee that compiled the rules to be followed by candidates, has come under fire from some in the party. Several NEC members have accused him of using the rules to “gatekeep” in an attempt to eliminate some candidates. These party members have told the Sunday Times that they will call for the rules to be amended at the next NEC meeting this weekend.
Some have labelled Motlanthe’s rule that no more than three people can contest each of the top-six positions as “madness” and said it is not in line with the party’s constitution. Motlanthe has stipulated that only the three candidates with the most nominations will feature on the ballot paper.
But Motlanthe told the Sunday Times the rules were final and anyone who wanted to change them was barking up the wrong tree.
“[The rules] are final, they were adopted by the NEC. These are the rules that apply now right up to conference. We are implementing rules of the NEC, it’s not our rules,” he said, adding that attempts to challenge and amend the rules would be futile.
Leadership nominations will officially close on Tuesday.