Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)
In anticipation of the ANC’s integrity commission report on Phala Phala, likely to be presented on Friday, the party’s national chairperson, Gwede Mantashe, is already advising that president Cyril Ramaphosa take it on appeal.
The report may return with a scathing finding similar to those of the section 89 panel report that found Ramaphosa has a case to answer for. The integrity commission may find that he must step aside
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian just a day after the ANC’s highest decision making body, the national executive committee (NEC), resolved to reject the panel’s damning report, Mantashe was firm that Ramaphosa could still make it to the ANC’s 16 December elective conference.
The NEC is expected to hold its final meeting on Friday to finalise its national conference.
The committee of elders (integrity commission) is on the agenda for the meeting. It is expected that it will present its recommendations on the Phala Phala matter.
The Mail & Guardian previously reported that the integrity commission was deadlocked over a draft report recommending Ramaphosa take a leave of absence while the investigation into the Phala Phala scandal is concluded.
Six high ranking ANC insiders who previously spoke to the M&G said the recommendation that Ramaphosa go on leave of absence has been the cause of an impasse for several weeks.
“Do you know how many reports of the integrity committee that said so and so must step aside and they appealed? Now that talks to processes. Okay, because Zweli Mkhize is appealing, we are not taking him out of meetings, he is appealing. The process must take its course to conclusion. Why is it correct when anybody else does it?” Mantashe said.
In August, the commission was unequivocal in recommending that the NEC suspend former health minister Mkhize until such time that the Digital Vibes corruption matter is resolved. It had initially recommended that Mkhize step aside.
Mkhize’s communication adviser, Vuyo Mkhize, at the time confirmed that Mkhize had been presented with a summary of the report “but this was shelved when the NEC discovered that Dr Mkhize had lodged an appeal against the same, as far back as 17 December 2021”.
Mantashe’s statement could be a sign that Ramaphosa will probably appeal an integrity commission finding against him.
Mantashe added that the system must be tested. He argued that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwa almost fell victim to the commission’s recommendations when he was accused of sexually assaulting an employee at a game lodge in Mpumalanga. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute after the complainant refused to proceed with the case.
“A report says to Enoch to take leave of absence, We’re all asking the question, what is leave of absence? How different is it from step aside. We have not ever got an answer. An institutional body that is set up must give that clarity. As it [the integrity commission] was saying take leave of absence the NPA dropped the case.”
Mantashe agreed that Ramaphosa had run his campaign for ANC president on an ethical and moral ticket but said some people in the media had a distorted description of ethics.
“Ethics is doing the right thing, doing the correct thing. And if something is faulty, don’t accept it for the sake. You deal with it, that’s ethical in itself. So that systems must be tested. Because there are many other cases that will come after you. If you lower the bar in dealing with cases, you are creating a crisis for everybody.”
Mantashe said Ramaphosa can appeal an integrity commission finding, adding that “he may decide not to”. He added that the outcomes of the commission would not change the NEC’s decision to reject the independent panel’s report.
“The commission didn’t take into account the report so don’t mix the two processes,” he said.
Ramaphosa has approached the constitutional court in an effort to take the section 89 panel report on review.
He has argued that recommendation by the panel that he faced an impeachment inquiry strayed beyond its mandate, the M&G reported.
The panel found that the president may have a case to answer on charges that he breached the law and the Constitution, particularly with regard to the source of the money stolen from his farm, the actual amount that was taken and the efforts that ensued to recover it.
It further concluded that there was prima facie (on first impression) evidence that the president breached anti-corruption legislation by failing to ensure that the theft of more than half a million US dollars was reported to the police.
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