‘Sense of urgency’ to deal with Phala Phala, says ANC as Ramaphosa no-show at NEC meeting

President Cyril Ramaphosa decided not to pitch to the ANC’s special national executive committee meeting amid fears that he could resign.

Members of the NEC arrived at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon, where the meeting was expected to discuss Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal after a report by an independent panel that found that the president may have violated the Constitution.

The special NEC meeting comes some two weeks ahead of the ANC’s elective conference, which will take place from 16 to 20 December. 

‘Sense of urgency’

ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile confirmed that Ramaphosa was not in attendance and was yet to meet with the NEC since the Phala Phala report was released.

“The president is still consulting,” he told the media on Friday.

Mashatile said NEC officials would meet again on Sunday, after the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) also convenes to discuss the report.

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The NWC – which consists of Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza, ANC chair Gwede Mantashe and Mashatile – will process the report then it will be sent to the NEC.

The treasurer-general also said “there is a sense of urgency” for the ANC to resolve this matter before next week.

Members of Parliament will debate and vote on whether to adopt the Phala Phala report on Tuesday.

ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile says the #ANCNEC meeting was cancelled because the ANC NWC needs to process the Phala Phala report first before it can be discussed by the ANC NEC. @News24 pic.twitter.com/2weO56hU8i

— Zintle (@ZintleMahlati) December 2, 2022

Ramaphosa resigning?

Ramaphosa was expected to address the nation on Thursday to announce his resignation having met with his advisors and allies in Cape Town, but this did not go ahead.

In a briefing address to the media, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said an announcement by Ramaphosa was still imminent.

“The president has to indicate to the nation what his next course of action would be. All options are on the table, but what is important is not so much the merits or the demerits of a particular option.

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“What is important is choosing a path or a route that first and foremost is in the interest of the country,” he said.

Asked if Ramaphosa was resigning, Magwenya said: “I can’t talk to a specific option, that would be misleading and create the wrong impression that he is looking at an option.

“He is looking at a number of options. What is important here is that it is not about what option is best for him. It is about what course of action does he take that is in the best interest of the country. That cannot be a process that is conducted in haste.”

‘Dictated by opportunism’

Some Cabinet ministers including Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Sisulu have called on Ramaphosa to step aside over the Phala Phala matter.

But GOOD party has insisted that the president “should not contemplate, nor be bullied” into resigning.

“The independent panel did not find Ramaphosa guilty of anything. Rather, the panel, conducting a preliminary assessment, and on its own version, made its recommendations with limited facts at its disposal.

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“It recommended that the president had a prima facie case to answer. Ramaphosa must have the opportunity to present his case, first in the parliamentary impeachment process and then potentially in court,” GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said in a statement on Friday.

Herron said the party was of the view that the country’s political leadership and economic direction should not be “dictated by opportunism, skullduggery, unproven allegations and Stalingrad legal defence strategies”.