Early election must be called, DA says in response to Phala Phala report

The DA says it will table a motion in parliament calling for an early election, after the findings on President Cyril Ramaphosa by the section 89 legal expert panel on Wednesday.

“That option is for a simple majority of 50% plus one of the National Assembly to vote for the dissolution of government, which would then trigger an early election,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen on Thursday.

Briefing the media, Steenhuisen said he would table a motion in the National Assembly in which he “will call on all members of the house, regardless of party or affiliation, to support it so that we can urgently close this chapter”.

“Impeachment proceedings into his conduct must go ahead, and he will have to offer far better, more comprehensive explanations than we have been given so far.” 

The country cannot “leave it up to 4,000 bribed and compromised delegates at an ANC conference to choose the future of our country. That choice has to be made by all the people of SA in an early election”, Steenhuisen said.

Steenhuisen was referring to the upcoming ANC elective conference beginning on December 16, where Ramaphosa is seeking a second term as the leader of the governing party.

The panel, led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, found that Ramaphosa has a case to answer on the charge that he may have seriously violated the law with regard to his failure to report the burglary at his Phala Phala farm two years ago, and for undertaking paid work while a member of the cabinet.

The panel also believes the money stolen from the farm was more than the $580,000 (about R10m) disclosed by the president in his submission three weeks ago, and has doubts about the legitimacy of the source of the currency stolen.

“The report is clear and unambiguous. President Ramaphosa most likely did breach a number of constitutional provisions and has a case to answer,” Steenhuisen said.

“The authors of the report clearly do not believe that President Ramaphosa’s explanation about the source of the hidden money was truthful, and they clearly believe that the president interfered with the investigation to keep it quiet.”

However, he said it was clear many had not expected such a bold finding against Ramaphosa.

“Many South Africans chose what they thought was the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa precisely because they felt they had to keep the other ANC out. But what has become evident since this scandal broke — and particularly now that it has been confirmed by an independent panel of former judges — is that the ‘two ANCs’ theory has been a myth all along, a myth designed to strengthen the ANC against itself.”

Steenhuisen said the DA was SA’s answer.

“We know exactly what the stakes are in the fight for our country’s future. We know the magnitude of the threat, but we also know that there is a pathway out of this.”

TimesLIVE