National Assembly vote on Phala Phala panel report postponed

Parliament has postponed the debate on the independent panel report on Phala Phala that was due to take place on Tuesday until Tuesday next week so that all MPs can be physically present.

This means that the National Assembly will vote on the independent panel report on Phala Phala three days before the start of the ANC’s elective conference on December 16 at which president Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to stand for a second term. It will also do so after the ANC’s integrity committee has submitted its report on Ramaphosa’s involvement in the Phala Phala matter to the ANC’s national executive committee.

A decision was also taken by the National Assembly’s programming committee on Monday night that voting will be by means of a roll call in which each MP will be asked to declare which way they are voting. It’s what the DA and other opposition parties have been asking for, but which was initially declined by National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu opposed what he said was a “herd” system of voting in which ANC MPs would be marshalled to vote in a particular way. DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said a roll call of votes would be in the interests of accountability and transparency.

The proposal for a postponement of the session was made by ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude and was supported by most opposition parties including the DA, EFF, ACDP, UDM and African Transformation Movement.

Parliament’s administrative staff will be under pressure to find a venue to accommodate 400 MPs — if they all turn up — for the special sitting, which will have only the panel report as the sole item on the agenda. Another logistical challenge will be for MPs coming to Cape Town from all over the country to get flights in peak holiday season.

The National Assembly sitting on Tuesday this week will go ahead to discuss other matters, excluding the panel report, and so that MPs can make their farewell speeches.

The report by the independent panel, chaired by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, found that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa might have violated the constitution and his oath of office in the manner in which he dealt with the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from his Phala Phala game farm.

The National Assembly has to vote on whether to accept or reject the report. Accepting it will set in motion an impeachment process.

Ramaphosa, who initially considering resigning after the release of the report on Wednesday last week, has applied to the Constitutional Court for a judicial review of the report.

Parliament’s chief legal adviser, Zuraya Adhikarie, told the programming committee that while Ramaphosa’s court application was a classic case of the sub judice rule, the courts have also ruled that the rule cannot bar parliament from performing its functions, especially of holding the executive to account. She said next week’s sitting of the National Assembly could go ahead.

Mapisa-Nqakula, who has been cited as a respondent in Ramaphosa’s review application, said she was taking legal advice and may consider seeking senior counsel advice on how to respond to the application. She was aware that the panel was appointed by parliament.

ensorl@businesslive.co.za