Political analyst, author and researcher, Prince Mashele, claims President Cyril Ramaphosa received approximately R1 billion from white business interests to secure his position as ANC president.
Image: Screengrab/SMWX Podcast
Prominent political analyst, author and researcher, Prince Mashele has claimed that President Cyril Ramaphosa received approximately R1 billion from 'white business interests' to secure his position as ANC president, at the expense of investing in the country and the economy.
Speaking on the Truth Report podcast, Mashele said this funding was a primary source of Ramaphosa's power during the 2017 ANC elective conference, commonly referred to as the 'CR17 campaign'.
The former senior research fellow at Govlnn stated that Ramaphosa raised nearly R1bn for his CR17 campaign to become the ANC president, adding that this money came directly from white businesses, whom he accused of “backing the wrong horse”.
Mashele added that white businesspeople must take responsibility for “producing” Ramaphosa’s presidency, suggesting they backed him despite warnings that it would not lead to genuine political reform.
Mashele claimed that these businesses have now “lost” their money as the South African economy and institutions have continued to decline under Ramaphosa’s leadership.
“Some of us warned them they were backing the wrong horse. However, they did not listen. Now, their money is gone,” he said, adding that these businesses ignored his warning that their investment would ultimately be lost as the country’s economy and institutions declined.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not respond to a request for comment.
In August 2019, Independent Media broke a significant story by publishing leaked bank statements from Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC presidential campaign.
The report revealed the identities of major financial contributors and detailed how campaign funds were channeled, revealing the names of high-profile financial contributors and leaking sensitive bank statements.
While Ramaphosa previously stated he was not involved in fundraising, the leaked emails suggested he had been consulted by campaign managers about approaching certain donors.
Following the report, Ramaphosa successfully petitioned to seal the financial records. This was after the Pretoria High Court subsequently ruled that the bank statements and records, which detailed nearly R1bn in funding, should remain confidential, a decision later upheld by the Constitutional Court.
Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said an 'entire establishment had everything to do with the CR17 campaign'.
He said this led to Ramaphosa not being 'in a position to serve the interests of the public, but to advance the interests of those who campaigned for his presidency'.
“This is all about his donors, and what is more dangerous is the privatisation of the state-owned entities. He is essentially selling the country and the capacity of the state to deliver so that the interests of donors are advanced,” said Seepe, following Ramaphosa's announcement during his State of the Nation Address, that the government is pushing ahead with the full unbundling of Eskom.
Mashele further criticised the idea of a Patrice Motsepe presidency by suggesting that those who support him might be "backing the wrong horse," similar to how he believes 'white business interests previously backed Cyril Ramaphosa with over R1 billion'.
Mashele previously claimed that Motsepe’s potential run is a “scheme” concocted by Ramaphosa (as a brother-in-law) to ensure he is protected from future prosecution, particularly regarding the Phala Phala scandal.
Seepe said that the same funders are likely to support Motsepe in his run for the ANC presidency.
“It will be like a record playing itself again,” he said.
Another political analyst, Zakhele Ndlovu, said these remarks do not come as a surprise, adding that the problem in South Africa is that there is no transparency when it comes to campaign finance.
“This is very dangerous because voters will never know who funds individual candidates and political parties. Who knows, maybe the country was sold to the highest bidder a long time ago, said Ndlovu, who added that South Africa will have more of the same president, should Motsepe be elected.