PHALA PHALA REPORT OUT TODAY
SOME PERTINENT QUESTIONS ● What was the source of the money? ● Why was it in foreign currency? ● Why were the funds stashed in furniture? ● Why was it not banked? ● Why were Sars laws violated? ● Why was the theft not reported? ● Why did SAPS offic
OPPOSITION parties expect that the Section 89 independent panel probing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm scandal will find that he has a case to answer when it delivers its final report to Parliament today.
The panel, consisting of former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, former head of the Gauteng High Court Division, Judge Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello, has spent almost two months going through evidence to see whether the president committed an impeachable offence related to the burglary at his farm.
The panel was formed after the African Transformation Movement (ATM) submitted a no-confidence motion in Ramaphosa after former spy boss Arthur Fraser laid a criminal charge against the president and former head of the Presidential Protection Unit, Wally Rhoode, for allegedly kidnapping and torturing five men and a woman to get them to reveal where they had hidden millions in foreign currency stolen from the president’s farm. According to Fraser’s affidavit, Ramaphosa had at least $4 million (about R68m) stashed in a couch on the game farm and played a part in covering it up, after an alleged illegal probe.
Justice Ngcobo and the panel would hand over the report to Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula today.
In a statement, he said: “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.”
Mapisa-Nqakula has invited chief whips and party representatives to the handover, and it was believed that it would be publicly available almost immediately.
Opposition parties wanted Mapisa-Nqakula to convene an ad hoc committee so that the matter could be investigated in a similar manner to the Nkandla matter involving former president Jacob Zuma. However, this was rejected by the speaker in preference to the independent panel.
Parliament goes into recess from tomorrow, but the National Assembly has resolved that a hybrid plenary would sit on December 6 to discuss the report.
The Presidency earlier this month issued a statement saying that Ramaphosa had co-operated with the panel.
“President Ramaphosa has always made certain that throughout his tenure as president, he abides by his oath of office and sets an example in his respect for the Constitution, its institutions, due process and the rule of law. President Ramaphosa categorically denies that he violated this oath in any way, and denies that he is guilty of any of the allegations made against him,” the statement read.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula said evidence that had been submitted showed there was prima facie evidence.
“We hope the report will speak to those facts regarding paid work, the risk of conflict of interest and the unlawful instruction handed to the Presidential Protection Unit.
“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 via an impeachment committee. We believe the panel has all the evidence to come to that conclusion,” said Zungula.
IFP chief whip Narend Singh said the scrutiny of the public and media would be on the outcomes of the report and the party expected the panel to recommend that Ramaphosa has a case to answer.
“We expect that the panel will find against the president and recommend that Parliament must now conduct an investigation,” he said.
The EFF said that Ramaphosa needed to be held accountable for laundering money, abduction, concealment of crime and misuse of state resources.
It said its efforts, coupled with other “principled parties, refused to allow justice to be delayed to suit Ramaphosa’s political aspirations”.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said that while they could not predict the outcome of the panel report, this would not be the last word on the matter.
“Legally, there might be technicalities, but ethically is where this case is now and this is precisely where Ramaphosa has failed the test. This is a leader who has taken the oath of office and people are not interested in legalistic jargon, but judge you on the serious allegations.” Holomisa said Ramaphosa had looked for excuses and had been found vacillating on whether he had declared the foreign currency to the SA Revenue Service.
ACDP leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe said from a layman’s point of view, prima facie evidence of wrongdoing had been heard.
“We expect the panel to find that there is prima facie evidence and the president has a case to answer. There are rumours and allegations, but we want to know if this large amount of foreign currency was declared to the revenue service,” said Meshoe.
DA leader John Steenhuisen on Monday said that the party would push for an ad hoc committee on Phala Phala should the independent panel probing the matter find that Ramaphosa has no case to answer.
He said they were concerned that the Section 89 inquiry would not fully cover the extent of the claims made against the president, adding that it would be a miracle if the panel found Ramaphosa had a case to answer.