Recommendation: A report drafted by chair of the ANC’s integrity commission George Mashamba has suggested President Cyril Ramaphosa take a leave of absence over the Phala Phala affair. Photo: Oupa Nkosi
The ANC’s integrity commission is deadlocked over a draft report recommending that President Cyril Ramaphosa take a leave of absence while the investigation into the Phala Phala scandal is concluded.
According to six sources with knowledge of the process, a report compiled by commission chairperson George Mashamba recommending that Ramaphosa go on leave of absence has been the cause of an impasse for several weeks as the commission has been unable to ratify it.
This comes as Ramaphosa appears to have maintained the upper hand in the race for the ANC presidency over contenders Zweli Mkhize and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma during the branch general member nomination process, which closed on Monday.
Ruling party insiders said Mashamba had drafted and submitted the report to the commission for ratification but members who were sympathetic to the president’s case refused to sign off on it.
The report was scheduled to have been presented at the ANC national executive committee (NEC), but is still to make it past the integrity commission.
With the five-yearly elective conference taking place in a month’s time, the commission represents the final hurdle faced by Ramaphosa — who has thus far survived the parliamentary and legal processes brought into play over Phala Phala — in his bid for a second term as ANC president.
Mashamba said the integrity commission’s job was to deal with issues of integrity, not to speak to the media.
“The integrity commission is one of the organs of the ANC, which does a specific job. There are other organs which do other jobs. The integrity commission deals with ethical issues and reports to the NEC. Then there are organs that speak to the public and the media,” he told the Mail & Guardian. “It’s unfortunate if there are people who commented on whatever is taking place.
“It’s like if you have a quarrel with your spouse and then they talk about your problems in the beer hall.”
On Wednesday, ANC treasurer and acting secretary general Paul Mashatile confirmed the integrity commission would feature at the NEC meeting, also scheduled for Thursday, but did not say whether the report by the body of elders would be tabled.
Mashatile said because the ruling party’s step-aside rule had been amended to allow for the removal of those who had been criminally charged, there was some “confusion”, with some people believing it only affected them and not those facing allegations whose cases had not led to arrests and court appearances.
“The step-aside rule is not a problem. There has been a lot of discussion around it, where people are decrying unfairness. We will look into that as the NEC to tighten the rule but, generally, everybody accepts [that] if you are alleged to have been involved in wrongdoing, you must appear before the integrity commission,” Mashatile said.
“The integrity commission may say you should step aside, even if you are not charged, because sometimes there’s confusion. People say you step aside only when you’re charged. No, if there’s serious allegations, and the integrity commission is of the view that they are damaging the party, they may take a decision that you should step aside.”
Ramaphosa has appeared twice before the commission over controversy around the theft at his game farm in Phala Phala, the last session being in September. He confirmed this last month, saying he had a good meeting with the body of elders.
“I gave them quite a bit of information, much of which is in the public domain,” the president told the media.
His initial interaction with the commission was first reported by the M&G in July. According to insiders who spoke at the time, Ramaphosa had been mum on the charges levelled against him.
Ramaphosa and the commission allegedly clashed after he refused to answer questions about the burglary at the game farm, which has made national and international headlines. The meeting was consequently adjourned.
“I don’t expect the commission will come back with any report this week. What I know is that the elders have reached an impasse,” said one senior ANC leader with intimate knowledge of the process.
“Some in the commission want to throw the book at the president but there are those who are reluctant to recommend that he take a leave of absence because of what this would do to the ANC and the country. There is a feeling by some that the investigation must be concluded before the commission can reach a decision.”
One commission member who spoke to the M&G was reluctant to discuss the report but confirmed they were aware that the draft report had recommended that the president take a leave of absence.
“It’s still something that we need to discuss. It’s a sensitive matter that must be handled with care. That is all that I can say,” the commission member said.
ANC leaders spoke of their frustration over Ramaphosa’s silence in the NEC meeting on the Phala Phala scandal.
Recently, presidential hopefuls Lindiwe Sisulu, Dlamini-Zuma and Mkhize also weighed in, saying the NEC had been kept in the dark on the matter.
Former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe have also cautioned Ramaphosa, saying the ANC needed to prepare for possible findings by state institutions that could go against the president.
The M&G understands that Mbeki also raised this in separate meetings with top officials shortly after the death of ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte.
One insider linked to the secretary general’s office said the former president had allegedly called Ramaphosa and national chairperson Gwede Mantashe and met deputy president David Mabuza and Mashatile on separate occasions to discuss the matter.
The insider said Mbeki told the senior officials that the ANC would need to prepare for the possible ramifications of a negative finding by state agencies on Phala Phala.
Although all officials reportedly agreed with Mbeki, sources say neither the officials, the national working committee nor the NEC have tabled the matter.
Ramaphosa has thus far managed to clear the legal obstacles raised by the Phala Phala fallout.
This week, his legal team submitted his responses to a panel set up by parliament to ascertain whether there was a case for the head of state’s impeachment over the scandal, in which several million US dollars were allegedly stolen from his game farm in 2020 while Ramaphosa was out of the country.
Former prisons head Arthur Fraser — an ally of former president Jacob Zuma — opened a fraud, corruption and money laundering case against Ramaphosa earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the integrity commission met and discussed a progress report, which M&G has seen, which will be submitted to the NEC.
The progress report confirmed it had met Ramaphosa twice, and that at the first meeting the president had said he was in a “quandary” over the injunction issued by the public protector “advising him not to talk to anyone on the issue”.
The committee said its recommendations have had to be considered in the context of a divided organisation perceived to have betrayed its basic principle of serving the people with integrity and honesty.
The commission said the intense rivalry in the ANC suggests the NEC may not fairly and honestly reflect on the issue and provide appropriate leadership.
“The IC [integrity commission] remains unaware of any facts regarding the events at the Phala Phala farm beyond what is in the public domain. The IC is of the view that whatever the final outcome of the Phala Phala case will be, it is not going to enable the ANC to fulfil the promise of renewal. The factions and the rivalry are going from strength to strength. They are not lessening or diminishing,” the commission said.
“The current situation presents the ANC as its own worst enemy and patriotic South Africans are watching with horror the speed with which the ANC is progressing towards its own disintegration. It is now clear that factions, especially within the leadership, will never agree to anything that affects another faction.”
The commission said the political situation in the ANC, and in particular the NEC, put it and the implementation of its mandate in an “invidious” position.
It added that the factions reach “right down to the branch level” and that organisational renewal would only reap results “when the NEC has the courage to focus on itself and not only on the general membership”.
The commission found that although “the Phala Phala incident and events around it have definitely brought the ANC into disrepute, at this stage it is not possible to determine individuals’ responsibilities in bringing the ANC into disrepute”.
“The IC therefore recommends that the president takes the NEC into his confidence and the NEC takes the people of South Africa into its confidence on a matter which has brought the ANC into disrepute.”
[/membership]