IT’S DOWNHILL FROM HERE
■ In a day of drama, calls grow for president to resign ■ An ANC national executive committee meeting that was due for last night has been postponed to today
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is under unprecedented pressure to resign or provide more details on why the Section 89 independent panel found that there is prima facie evidence of serious misconduct against him over the foreign currency that was held at his property.
In a day of drama yesterday, Ramaphosa was due to hold an evening “family meeting”, however, this was postponed with his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya saying that the president was still consulting.
An ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting that was scheduled for last night was postponed to today.
Earlier, Ramaphosa postponed a Q&A session in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), where he was expected to have faced a barrage from the opposition benches.
There was intense speculation that Ramaphosa was poised to resign or that the NEC would recall him after the panel found that there was a prima facie evidence that he may have violated the Constitution.
Nonetheless, Ramaphosa is expected to face a tough grilling at today’s meeting with some NEC members expected to take him to task after the panel found prima facie evidence that he had undisclosed foreign currency on his farm and that he was not open about the investigation.
Regardless of the outcomes of the NEC meeting, opposition parties are forging ahead with plans to use the parliamentary processes to remove the president from office.
They say that the damning findings must lead to the establishment of an impeachment committee.
The panel was formed after the African
Transformation Movement (ATM ) submitted a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa after former State Security Agency (SSA) boss Arthur Fraser opened criminal charges over the Phala Phala farm affair.
The ATM yesterday approached House Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula requesting a secret ballot when Parliament meets on Tuesday to vote on an impeachment committee.
“Madam speaker must accept that (a) secret ballot voting system is necessary in certain circumstances for the effective exercise of the members of the National Assembly right to vote without outside influence or conscience which would render the right an empty one,” the ATM said.
It also pointed out to the speaker that the adoption of a secret ballot was based on the “principle that it promotes and protects freedom of expression of choice without undue influence, intimidation and fear of disapproval from others or a money-inspired sham”.
Ramaphosa may decide to take the panel report on review, however, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula believes that the impeachment process will still go ahead.
“It is within his power to review but the panel made its findings on credible information.
“Ramaphosa must wait for Parliament to make its decision and then take that on review,” said Zungula.
For an impeachment committee to go ahead, 266 members of the National Assembly would need to approve the vote, taking into account that the ANC has 230 members.
“We believe that ANC members will support the vote and any member of Parliament who votes against it is just as much responsible for violating the law and Constitution as the president,” said Zungula.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said yesterday that the party had tabled a motion for early elections and had pushed for the establishment of an impeachment committee.
“The report is clear and unambiguous and an impeachment process into his conduct as per his rule of conduct must go ahead.
“He must offer a far better explanation to South Africans than he has done. The panel believes the source of money and how the investigation took place was flawed.”
Steenhuisen said when Ramaphosa was elected, South Africans wanted to believe this meant saying goodbye to corruption but this was not the case.
“Even under ideal circumstances we had a mountain to climb but when you have a compromised president fighting for his political life, none of that critical work will be done,” said Steenhuisen.
The IFP said considering all factors, the panel could not have arrived at any conclusions other than the ones presented in their report.
“The prima facie evidence is compelling. Therefore, on Tuesday, December 6, when the panel report is considered by the National Assembly, the IFP will vote in support of the adoption of the report by the House, as well as in support of the establishment of an impeachment committee,” the party said in a statement.
The EFF said it would also request a secret ballot at next week’s meeting of the National Assembly.
“It is now clear that there is a deliberate cover-up of the crimes committed by Ramaphosa and our law enforcement agencies are complicit,” the party said in a statement.
NEW details have emerged that ANC Ekurhuleni regional treasurer Sello Sekhokho scored more than R80 million in tenders from other hospitals in Gauteng despite no valid certificate to sell medical products.
This damning evidence was revealed by the Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in her written reply to questions from the DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom.
In the past months, Nkomo-Ralehoko revealed that Sekhokho’s three companies, Kaizen Projects, Nokhokhoko Medical Supplies and Bollanoto Security, had received R14.5m in 55 contracts from Tembisa Hospital alone, in the past years.
The latest replies were related to other hospitals in Gauteng, in which Nkomo-Ralehoko confirmed that Sekhokho had also benefited and the amounts were higher compared with Tembisa Hospital.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said a total of 225 contracts were awarded in the last three years to Kaizen Projects, Nokhokhoko Medical Supplies and Bollanoto Security. They amount to about R84m.
“These payments were to hospitals other than Tembisa Hospital, whereas in a previous reply to my questions it was disclosed that the three companies got R14.5m in 55 contracts from Tembisa Hospital in the last three years.
“Adding them together, there are a total of 280 contracts worth about R98.5m awarded to Sekhokho’s three companies.”
Bloom said it was poignant that this bombshell information was revealed on Wednesday, when the family of murdered Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran commemorated what would have been her 54th birthday.
She raised the alarm over suspicious payments to Sekhokho’s companies by Tembisa Hospital, but according to news reports, she was allegedly instructed by then health CFO Lerato Madyo to pay the companies and keep it secret.
Madyo is now suspended along with the Tembisa Hospital CEO Ashley Mthunzi, and the SIU is investigating the R850m payments to fishy companies that Deokaran flagged as “possibly fraudulent”.
Bloom said Nkomo-Ralehoko gave a table in her reply that indicated only R4.6m paid to the companies, but that was contradicted by the appendices which indicate a far higher amount.
“All the payments are under R500 000, which allows the hospital CEO to sign off the contracts instead of going out to tender.”
Nkomo-Ralehoko said that none of the companies had SA Health Products Regulatory Authority approval for the sale of medical products, and “a number of irregularities were noted after the audit/assessment of internal controls”.
“A quick perusal of the payments shows blatant overcharging and fishy purchases,” Bloom said.
“Bollanoto Security provided no security services, but sold a wide variety of goods and even food supplies. This includes 108 ‘rainsuits’ of various sizes for men and women, at a total cost of R1.88m. This is R17 000 for each rainsuit. “Some R196 000 was apparently spent on 17 V-neck jerseys – this is R11 500 per jersey,” he said.
Bloom also asked “why on earth was R294 000 spent on socks for Tokyo Sexwale Primary School?”
According to Bloom, the food was similarly overpriced – R937 000 was spent on 1 920kg of 6mm boerewors sausage, which amounts to R488/kg, as opposed to boerewors that can be bought for R100/kg at a supermarket.
“Overpriced goods were still being bought from the companies in July this year,” he said.
“It is outrageous! It looks like a giant scam to fleece hospitals …”
Bloom said he would ask further questions about which hospitals awarded the contracts as the CEOs and supply chain management officials in these hospitals should be held to account.
“We also need to know whether any of the money from Sekhokho’s contracts found its way to the ANC, especially now with all the ANC conferences. The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) claimed in June this year that inflated payments for contracts at Tembisa Hospital were intended for vote rigging and bribery by senior ANC officials in Gauteng.
“I have always suspected that there was high-level political protection for rotten officials in the Gauteng Health Department which is embroiled in an endless scandal,” Bloom said.
He said his party was demanding that a freeze be put immediately on all further payments to Sekhokho’s companies, saying measures must be taken as soon as possible to claw money back from his companies which benefited from massive price gouging.
While Nkomo-Ralehoko said the then premier (David Makhura) had asked the SIU to investigate the irregularities, Bloom said there was no need to wait for the SIU investigation to conclude its investigation “when the overcharging evidence is so obvious”.