The ANC has come to the defence of acting public protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka, saying that those who have issues with the report on Phala Phala, which exonerated President Cyril Ramaphosa from any wrongdoing, should approach the courts.
Gcaleka’s report, which was released on Friday, cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in the scandal, where large sums of foreign currency were stolen. Gcaleka said the claims of potential violation of the executive ethics code by Ramaphosa related to the theft were found to be “unsubstantiated”.
Opposition political parties, including the DA, EFF and ATM, have however critised the report. The DA and ATM, which initially laid the compliant with the public protector, have announced their intentions to approach the courts with the aim of having the report set aside. The EFF said it was consulting its legal team to weigh up available options, including but limited to a review of the report.
During his opening address at the ANC Youth League’s elective conference on Saturday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party welcomed the report because it exonerated Ramaphosa.
“If you disagree with the public protector you go to court ... don’t insult her because she is a woman …. The decisions of the public protector can be reviewed,” Mbalula said.
Other state institutions investigating the matter include the Reserve Bank.
A section 89 independent panel headed by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo said in its report released late in 2022, that Ramaphosa may have broken some of the country’s anticorruption laws in connection with the theft of a large sum of dollars from his Limpopo farm in late 2020.
The National Assembly, however, rejected the report, paving the way for Ramaphosa to be re-elected as the ANC’s president at its national elective conference in 2022.
In May, Ramaphosa elected to no longer legally challenge the report, saying the matter was moot after a vote by the National Assembly not to proceed with an impeachment inquiry.
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