South African President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to attend a crucial African National Congress meeting of the National Executive Committee on Friday due to his “engaging stakeholders with regards to the way forward following findings of an independent parliamentary panel that the president may have violated his oath of office,” presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya has said.
Due to the president’s failure to show up at the NEC meeting, the gathering agreed to reconvene at a later date after former President Thabo Mbeki objected to discussing the Phala Phala report without party president Ramaphosa in the room.
The panel, formed to look into the circumstances around a robbery at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm three years ago, found that he might have seriously violated sections of the Constitution concerning the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
But the president has “categorically denied” these allegations, the spokesperson said.
At a media briefing Friday night, Magwenya said the president was cognisant of the urgency of addressing the nation in this regard.
“The president appreciates the urgency of this matter. The president appreciates the enormity of this issue and what it means for the country and he stability of government — and as a result of that, he is still processing the report,” he said.
“But in that exercise, he’s also engaging a number of role players and stakeholders across the governing party, different levels of the governing party, and different levels of the alliance in appreciation of the enormity of the matter,” Magwenya said.
He, however, assured South Africans that Ramaphosa would address the nation in due course.
Among the stakeholders being consulted is the GOOD party which said Ramaphosa’s resignation now would be premature.
“The panel did not find Ramaphosa guilty of anything,” GOOD secretary-general and lawmaker Brett Herron said.
“Rather, the panel, conducting a preliminary assessment and on its own version, made its recommendations with limited facts at its disposal. It recommended that the president had a prima facie case to answer,” Herron said.
Herron said while a resignation would set a new, admirable and high standard for accountability, Ramaphosa is not guilty of any crime, “as he has strenuously averred.”
The loudest calls for Ramaphosa to step aside from his duties as president or resign from office came from the so-called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction in the ANC led by former president Jacob Zuma and other disgraced ruling party officials.
He should remain at his desk and clear his name, which would be in the best interests of the country, he added.
NM/as/APA