South Africa's ruling party meets to discuss President Ramaphosa's 'Farmgate' scandal
South Africa's ruling African National
Congress party is holding emergency talks after an independent panel called for
an impeachment inquiry, saying President Cyril Ramaphosa may have broken the
law.
The panel said Wednesday that Ramaphosa needs
to explain the theft of at least half a million dollars hidden in a sofa on his
game farm. The scandal, known as "farmgate," has led to calls for the
president to step down.
Ahead of the party's National Executive
Committee meeting, ANC chairperson Gwede Manatashe said the report recommending
the impeachment inquiry should be examined.
The report from an independent panel says
there are questions about the amount of money stolen from the president's game
farm, the source of the money and whether it was declared for tax purposes.
The president says $580,000 was stolen and
that the money was from the sale of 20 buffalos to a Sudanese businessman. But
former spy boss Arthur Fraser says the amount stolen is between $4 million and
$8 million, given to the president and his adviser by several Middle Eastern
and African countries.
The Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo
Makgoba, urged people to wait until an investigation is completed before making
a judgment in the case.
"It is correct that no one should be
above the law, but to pass final judgment on a person based on what is, in
effect, a board of preliminary investigation, which has not made a final
determination of the facts, could lead to lawlessness in South Africa,"
Makgoba said.
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of anti-corruption group
Organization Undoing Tax Abuse, said: "We should be demanding the highest
conduct from a president, in which case if that is what we're looking for, then
he should be stepping down and, on top of that, the ANC has been the problem
for so long. The fact that we have so many people found wanting and implicated
in corruption and maladministration still in positions of power is a serious
matter for this country."
He said citizens must unite and show their
displeasure at the polls.
"Civil society has to become very
vigilant and protect the gains that we've been able to achieve since 2017 and
to make sure when 2024 comes we have high voter turnout so that we can remove
the ANC from power, because the ANC is the reason why we're in so much trouble
in South Africa," Duvenage said.
Constitutional law expert and University of
Cape Town professor Pierre de Vos said parliamentarians will vote Tuesday on
whether to adopt the report and proceed with the impeachment inquiry.
"It's a party vote, so if the ANC
instructs its caucus to vote against such a motion that will be the end of the
impeachment motion," de Vos said.
And does he think President Ramaphosa will
survive as his predecessor Jacob Zuma did?
"It's a political calculation that
depends on what happens in the ANC," de Vos said.
"In the past, though, the ANC and its caucus in the National Assembly, as
we know from the Zuma era, has protected its president, the president of the
party, from this kind of accountability."
In an interview with a local TV station
Friday, ANC chair Mantashe denied a report that Ramaphosa is considering
resigning.
The president has maintained his innocence,
with his spokesman saying he wants to do what's best for the country.
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