ANC says Ramphosa ready to cooperate with Phala Phala investigators

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The ANC confirmed during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa stands ready to cooperate with any law enforcement agency investigating allegations related to the theft at his Phala Phala game farm.  

ANC MP Sakhumzi Somyo said that “there is no cover-up” and that parliament should base its decisions on facts, not rumours. He also accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of attempting to portray the president as someone who did not want to account for the burglary at his game farm.

The debate follows a motion tabled by the DA on Thursday 22 September, calling for an ad-hoc committee to probe events surrounding the burglary of millions of dollars in foreign currency from his Phala Phala game reserve. The theft took place early in 2020, but was not reported to the police and only came to light more than two years later.

The governing party objected to the motion, saying it was short notice and interfered with the work of the independent panel established to determine if there is a prima facie case against the president.

During the debate on Tuesday, DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said that according to the Constitution, an investigation of the Phala Phala allegations was necessary. 

“The possible establishment of a Section 89 inquiry will determine whether Ramaphosa should be removed. All that is asked of you today, is to allow parliament to do its work of determining the facts and investigate the serious allegations before us,” said Gwarube. 

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the majority of ANC members of parliament were present when that “circus” happened, referring to the Phala Phala burglary. He added that a “crooked president” used them all like a “two-bit mob boss” and they allowed it.

A quarrel broke out between Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Omphile Maotwe and session chairperson Richard Dyantyi after she refused to switch on her video on the Zoom platform. Maotwe argued that she was in a rural area with poor network coverage.

Dyantyi decided to move on to the next speaker, with EFF MPs protesting, saying that “unnecessary rules were being added to the meeting and that this was a deliberate attack at EFF MPs”. Eventually Maotwe had the opportunity to speak and said the EFF was in support of the establishment of the ad-hoc committee.  

“We are going to deal with Rama-dollars. We need an ad-hoc committee to understand the role of the police, departments and the State Security Agency in the Phala Phala saga,” she said.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Siphosethu Ngcobo said the party supported the establishment of the ad-hoc committee and that the president’s actions thus far had not been aligned with the office he holds. He singled out Ramaphosa’s failure to adhere to the public protector’s deadline of 18 July to reply to questions regarding the burglary. Instead it took the threat of court action for him to answer. 

“South Africans are shocked by the Phala Phala controversy. The president is not a man leading from the front. Phala Phala has been shrouded in secrecy. It is parliament’s duty to hold the executive to account,” said Ngcobo.

Voting on the motion will take place on Wednesday.