President President Cyril Ramaphosa’s back is against the wall. His decision to challenge the findings of the Section 89 Independent Panel, nearly four years later, is clearly a desperate attempt to save himself.
His effort to fight back follows last week’s ruling by the Constitutional Court, which removed the protection previously afforded to him by the ANC majority in Parliament.
The President clearly realises that the shield that the ANC provided to him in December 2022 – with 214 votes against 148 – has collapsed. His only option now is to fight back.
The President’s application for a review of the Independent Panel’s report will temporarily halt the parliamentary process, but it does not change the fundamental reality that the Constitutional Court has ruled the report must be investigated.
The entire matter has become less about preserving President Ramaphosa personally, and more about preserving the ANC.
What is playing out behind the scenes is a bitter struggle for the soul and the power of the ANC – a struggle in which forces outside the ANC also have a direct interest.
There is no doubt that former President Jacob Zuma views himself and his MK Party as the true champions of the ANC’s original ideals, with the EFF fulfilling the role of a radical youth league.
President Ramaphosa had 180 days after the Independent Panel’s findings were released on 30 November 2022 to decide whether he wished to review them. He did not do so. Instead, since the parliamentary vote on 13 December 2022, he has tried to bury the entire matter under a shroud of silence.
But now that things have taken a new turn with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, President Ramaphosa suddenly speaks up by claiming that the Panel’s report contains “several errors”.
He denies having acted wrongly or unconstitutionally in any way, and claims the matter is being pursued by people who want to undo the country’s progress. He maintains that he gave his full cooperation to the investigation and that the allegations are nothing but hearsay.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) believes that it is time for the truth to come out. The Constitutional Court paved the way for a thorough investigation. That process should be allowed to run its course, without any tactics being employed to delay it.
FF+ Manifesto on Transparency and accountability: Promoting transparency and accountability in government.
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