President Cyril Ramaphosa's next big challenges will be how to dismantle state capture networks, recoup funds lost to the looting and prosecute corruption going forward. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take full responsibility and admit that he lied to Parliament about a R500 000 payment from Bosasa.
Ramaphosa backtracked on a response he gave before the National Assembly 11 days ago about the payment from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson, allegedly for the benefit of his son, Andile.
The president said the October 2017 payment was actually a donation towards his ANC presidential campaign, which he states was made without his knowledge.
This emerged in a letter Ramaphosa wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly dated November 14, saying he had inadvertently provided incorrect information in his initial response.
Spin and backfire
Speaking to media on Friday night at one of the party’s consultative meetings with the public, EFF leader Julius Malema said that Ramaphosa thought he was going to spin the issue, but now it has backfired on him.
“The president must take full responsibility and admit that he lied to Parliament and he knows what happens to people who lie to Parliament,” Malema said.
“Now the president on his own accord came back to Parliament and said I misunderstood the question and therefore I seek to clarify that question.”
Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane has since called for a full investigation into the relationship between Bosasa and the Ramaphosa family.
Ramaphosa son denies payment
“This investigation should cover all payments made to any member of the Ramaphosa family from Bosasa and African Global Operations. [It should also] cover the business relationship between Bosasa and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s son,” he said on Friday.
Maimane said Ramaphosa should “come clean” and disclose all payments received by him, his family, and his campaign from Bosasa.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu tweeted on Saturday that the president showed he was a true leader when he retracted the answer he gave to Parliament when he realised it was incorrect.
Ramaphosa was reportedly responding to a question from Maimane over the payment by saying that he had questioned his son and learned that the payment was in respect of a consultancy contract his son’s company had signed with Bosasa, now named African Global Operations.
But just hours later, Andile denied that this specific payment ever reached him.
Ramaphosa is currently out of the country. He arrived in Ethiopia on Saturday morning for the 11th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
He just concluded his working visit to Geneva, Swiss Confederation, where he co-chaired the Fourth Meeting of the Global Commission on the Future of Work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). — News24