Phala Phala saga turning public opinion against Ramaphosa

The ongoing pressure exerted on President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to exhaust him and possibly force him to make compromises within the governing African National Congress (ANC).

This is according to political analyst, Ralph Mathekga, who is of the view that Ramaphosa will likely be pushed into a corner, where he won’t be able to push back.

The Phala Phala farm saga came to light when former spy boss, Arthur Fraser, opened a case against Ramaphosa, claiming the President had concealed a crime of theft that happened at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in 2020.

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“Arthur Fraser’s plan was not to remove Ramaphosa, he (Fraser) knows it’s impossible.

“He is only trying to neutralize him, get him tired to a point where he can’t even focus,” Mathekga said.

But can the President survive this?

“I think there are chances that he will, but it is going to exauhst him a great deal and it is going to push him to compromise on certain areas within the ANC.

“The step aside rule is actually facing a big risk and I think that was the intention by those who revealed this information at the time they did, but he (Ramaphosa) also did not help himself in this situation because he has not taken any responsibility… He has been ducking and diving,” Mathekga said.

Another political analyst, Piet Croucamp, is of the opinion that the pressure Ramaphosa finds himself under, particularly around Phala Phala, is justifiable.

Croucamp said this is not just a legal matter at play, but a lot of politics are involved too.

“He should share his version of events with the public as much as he should share with the investigating authorities, and if everything is above board, then there is no reason why there should be a difference between what he is willing to tell the public and what he is willing to tell the investigating authorities,” he said.

On how this will affect the President, Croucamp said Ramaphosa, at one stage, did say he will step aside if the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decides to prosecute him, as per the ANC’s step aside rules.

“I think if the Hawks come to a decision to formalise the charges and the NPA decides to follow through, I have absolutely no doubt that he will step aside. But, I do think it will not be the end of the world for him, I think he actually wanted to be a one term president and he’s only taking up the second term because of the desperate position of the ANC.

“There is a lot of political vested interests, but also in the private sector, that would prefer for him to stay [as president] for the type of stability the country needs,” said Croucamp.

He added that Ramaphosa is losing the public opinion battle around this saga with more and more people are starting to think he is not that clean.

Ramaphosa has not provided any further details about what really happened in 2020, when allegedly US dollars were found stashed in a mattress at his farm.

On Tuesday afternoon the office of the Public Protector denied Ramaphosa’s request for another extension on the 31 questions he needs to answer involving the Phala Phala saga.

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