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Phala Phala: Will ANC NEC change its mind in backing Ramaphosa?
The ANC's integrity commission previously found that the president has brought the ruling party into disrepute.
President Cyril Ramaphosa makes closing remarks at ANC’s NEC meeting on 13 November 2022. Picture: Michel Bega
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) is convening for the second time this week as the ruling party aims to finalise its preparations for its elective conference.
The focus for Friday’s meeting will be on the integrity commission, which is expected to deliver its outstanding reports on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga among other matters.
In a leaked progress report, the integrity committee indicated that Ramaphosa brought the ANC in disrepute due to his handling of the burglary at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
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Addressing the media outside the Nasrec Expo Centre on Friday, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe confirmed that the NEC would discuss the integrity commission reports without them being processed by the national working committee (NWC) in order to avoid any leaks.
“We took as decision as the NWC that reports of the integrity commission must rather [go] straight to the NEC for processing and finality. They are sitting with a number of outstanding reports,” he said.
The NEC meeting is expected to conclude by 6pm, according to Mabe.
The question that lingers is whether the NEC will change its stance on the Phala Phala matter if the integrity commission makes an adverse findings against Ramaphosa.
On Monday, the NEC resolved that its members in Parliament should vote against the adoption of the Section 89 panel’s report, which found the president had a case to answer on the Phala Phala scandal, because Ramaphosa was taking it on review.
However, not all the ANC members are willing to toe the party line in a bid to protect Ramaphosa.
‘Muzzled’
In an interview with political analyst, Professor Sipho Seepe, ANC presidential contender Zweli Mkhize said some NEC officials were shut down from expressing their views on the Phala Phala matter.
“I have been critical on how we discussed the matter because not all of us were able to speak. Ordinarily we speak everything on site and get a summary resolution that contains all views of the people who have been participating and then of course after we kept quite because of all our views [have been recorded].
READ MORE: Possibility of many ANC MPs voting for Section 89 report ‘should not be ruled out’
“This time around this is not how it happened and we have been objecting to the chairperson [of the ANC Gwede Mantashe] prematurely closing the meeting and muzzled a number of members. I believe that’s not a right way to run the organisation because it begins to give a resolution that might be misleading to the public,” he said.
Mkhize further said he was of the view that Ramaphosa should seek to clear his name through the parliamentary process.
Other ANC members – including Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu – have called for Ramaphosa’s resignation.
Parliament vote
This coming Tuesday, the National Assembly will debate and vote on the Section 89 panel report, with all 400 MPs expected to be at the sitting.
Some ANC MPs are expected to defy the ruling party’s orders.
If the National Assembly adopts the report, a Section 89 Committee will then be established and Ramaphosa will be subjected to impeachment proceedings.
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