Johannesburg - Political parties have reacted to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday night address on the recommendations of the State Capture report.
The strongest of these responses, although not directly related to the president’s speech, was that of the United Democratic Movement (UDM). The UDM has submitted a letter to the Independent Panel regarding the inquiry initiated by the National Assembly to remove the president in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution.
In a letter to the chairperson of the panel, former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo the UDM referenced the Phala Phala farmgate scandal, which came from Arthur Fraser’s meeting with the Hawks.
“I would like to submit the attached letter purportedly written to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) by Mr Arthur Fraser on June 23, 2022. From reading it, one concludes that Mr Fraser has provided the Hawks with additional, rather explosive, information regarding the whole matter in addition to his now well-publicised affidavit of June 1, 2022.
“The big question about where the money came from ie, the clarification from the Presidency that it was from the sale of animals, seems to be disputed in the letter,” said UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa.
He pointed out that a close adviser of Ramaphosa, Benji Chauke, was “ostensibly instrumental in illegally bringing large sums of US dollars into South Africa for himself and the president, after returning from trips he undertook on behalf of President Ramaphosa to various countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, and Equatorial Guinea”.
Holomisa said there is greater trouble than originally thought, if South African citizens can so easily transport foreign currency across our borders.
“It is clear that the veracity of the information provided, and the allegations made in the letter be investigated by the Independent Panel. The Hawks should shed some light on what has transpired in terms of their actions taken subsequent to receiving this additional information.
“Such steps will surely be of assistance to the Independent Panel and their work,” read the letter.
Holomisa also said there seemed to be a concerted effort, either with the knowledge and blessing of the president or in his name to distort information and cover up what really happened at the time of the alleged robbery and any subsequent actions (or inaction) taken by the various stakeholders to cover up the incident.
“After having read the information in this letter, it has become more apparent that, if it had not been for this Independent Panel’s formation and expected work, this whole incident might have been swept under the carpet,” Holomisa added.
The EFF also launched a scathing attack on Ramaphosa “for trying to use the State Capture report as a smoke-screen in the Phala Phala scandal”.
“He (Ramaphosa) is dead to the fact that, as state president, he should have long cleared his name of these serious criminal charges laid against him,” the EFF said in a statement.
The party claimed the State Capture Commission was being weaponised by the “white establishment of state capture of which Ramaphosa is the vanguard”.
“The only address that Ramaphosa needs to make is his resignation. However, his hysterical love for whiteness and its state capture has him running around the world soliciting funds to facilitate another term as the ‘prepaid ANC president’,” the EFF said.
DA spokesperson for public service and administration, Leon Schreiber, reminded Ramaphosa of the ANC’s cadre deployment in which the president is said to have played a major part.
Schreiber said that if Ramaphosa was at all serious about ending state capture, he would have told the nation last night that the corrupt practice of cadre deployment would come to an end “with immediate effect”.
Schreiber said that if Ramaphosa cared about South Africans, the ANC would have abolished this practice because, as the commission itself confirmed, “state capture has been facilitated by the appointment of pliant individuals to powerful positions in state entities”.
The Star