Johannesburg – The EFF has welcomed the decision by Parliament to debate the Phala Phala report on December 6.
The EFF said this after the report by the Section 89 Independent Panel, which was to investigate whether there was prima facie evidence to proceed with an impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa, was due to be released.
The EFF said that, through political manoeuvring and factional politics, an extension was granted for the submission of the report to November 30, a day before the last sitting of Parliament this year.
“Ideally, those who are determined to cover up the crimes of Phala Phala will not release any information regarding what happened on the farm until Ramaphosa has secured his political interests,” said the party.
The EFF was sceptical about the finding and said that based on the likely punitive recommendations of the Phala Phala report, it would explore mechanisms to ensure Parliament sits on a special case should the need arise.
“The EFF will study the report closely ahead of the debate in Parliament and calls on all South Africans to witness a mafia president for operating the criminal underworld. It is in the interest of the Constitution and the future of South Africa that Ramaphosa is exposed and ultimately impeached for breaking his oath of office and humiliating this country with his dodgy antics on Phala Phala farm,” the party said.
A parliamentary statement yesterday said that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, had received correspondence from retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, the chairperson of the Independent Panel of Experts conducting preliminary assessment of a motion tabled in accordance with Section 89 of the Constitution, requesting an extension of the deadline for the submission of the panel's report.
“In his letter, the chairperson indicated that the panel had assessed the enquiry process to determine if it will meet the submission deadline of Thursday, November 17, 2022, and had, based on its assessment of the amount of ground still to be covered and the available resources, determined that the enquiry should be completed within 13 days, that is, by November 30, 2022,” read the statement.
According to the letter, the additional time requested was realistic, taking into account the importance of the inquiry, its complexity, and the novelty of the nature of the work involved.
“The panel believes that it was in the public interest that an enquiry of this nature be scrupulously conducted and all the information and submissions placed before it be carefully considered,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the Speaker was mindful that the current rules governing the Section 89 process did not provide for the extension of the deadline for the submission of the panel report.
“In this regard, the Speaker has invoked Rule 6 – which deals with unforeseen circumstances – to accede to the panel's request. In terms of this rule, the Speaker may give a ruling or frame a rule in respect of any eventuality for which the rules or orders of the House do not provide, having due regard to the procedures, precedents, practices, and conventions developed by the House and on the basis of constitutional values and principles underpinning an open, accountable, and democratic society,” the statement read.
The Speaker has accordingly extended the deadline by which the panel will submit its report from November 17 to November 30.
The Star