Ramaphosa sticks to his guns on funds
President declines to answer questions on leaked recording
President Cyril Ramaphosa has thrown a curve ball at parliament’s finance watchdog Scopa, saying his statement that public funds were misused in ANC internal presidential campaigns was based on information in the public domain.
Sunday World last week reported Ramaphosa would refuse to reveal which ANC leaders siphoned state funds to prop up their campaigns in the leadup to the party’s 2017 elective conference.
In a leaked audio recording that surfaced in December, Ramaphosa is heard saying he would rather fall on his sword than reveal public funds were used to sponsor party internal campaigns.
“One of the officials said as these people from the state security [agency] testify [at the state capture commission], one of the officials said soon they will be revealing about how money was used for some campaigns, and I said I would rather they say you got money from this business for CR17 than for the public to finally hear that their public money was used to advance certain campaigns,” he said during an ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting. It has since emerged the recording was of an NEC meeting held between March 26 and 28 last year.
The statement led to ANC MP Mervyn Dirks filing a complaint with Scopa against Ramaphosa only in December, which has raised questions about the timing of the move, just before Ramaphosa delivered the party’s 110th birthday message in Polokwane.
Last month, Scopa chairman
Mkhuleko Hlengwa, after receiving legal opinion, wrote to Ramaphosa requesting him to, among others, provide information relating to the alleged misuse of public funds for ANC election campaigns and whether there were any instruction from senior public officials to release public funds for party political purposes.
In his reply, sent on Wednesday, Ramaphosa did not answer most of the questions sent to him, prompting the possibility of being summoned before the committee. He said some of the information in his statement was in the public domain.
“I do not have any direct and specific information on the alleged misuse of public funds for party political purposes.
“The statements I made in the NEC meeting were based on allegations already in the
public domain and rumours circulating within the organisation and broader society.”
The president referred to the high-level review panel report on state security as one of the sources of his information.
The panel found a parallel agency within SSA had been set up to serve the interests of former president Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa further used the testimony, in January last year, of an unnamed witness before the state capture inquiry who alleged SSA money was used to fund ANC activities.
Asked if he had any information that could assist the committee to determine whether public funds were misused by the ANC or any of its party members, and if so, how such funds were channelled, Ramaphosa said: “I don’t have any information in my possession that could assist the commission in this respect.”
Hlengwa has referred Ramaphosa’s letter to chief parliamentary legal adviser advocate Zuraya Adhikarie. The committee will meet on Wednesday to consider his response.
I don’t have any specific information on the misuse of public funds