South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday made his first appearance before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to assure the body of his support for its work from him as a leader of both the ruling African National Congress and the country.
Speaking during his appearance, Ramaphosa said his support for the commission was part of the country’s strengthening of its young democracy which celebrated the 27th anniversary of its new political dispensation on Tuesday.
Taking the stand, the president said: “The ANC has taken this position (of supporting the commission) knowing that the organisation itself would be placed under great scrutiny and that the process of examining these matters will be difficult and painful for the ANC.”
“Nevertheless, the ANC maintains that this commission is a necessary part of the broader social effort of ending all forms of state capture and corruption in our country,” Ramaphosa said.
Due to this, the South African leader said he would “not make excuses for the ANC or defend the indefensible” during his testimony at the commission.
Ramaphosa’s much anticipated two-part appearance before the commission is expected to focus on, among other issues, matters that happened during his tenure as party deputy president to former ANC president Jacob Zuma.
An excited Commission Chairperson and Deputy Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, thanked the president for agreeing to testify in Wednesday’s proceedings.
“Mr. President, we are happy that you are here to represent the ruling party. We are happy that the President of the party is the one who comes to give evidence to the commission.
“I also want to say that your appearance before this commission is not a result of a decision taken recently. It is a decision that was taken in 2018 as you will recall,” Zondo said.
Ramaphosa was originally expected to appear before the commission on 13-14 May this year.
While that commitment still stands, it has been pushed to a later date due to a heavy schedule that the commission has found itself in, Zondo said.
NM/as/APA