Opposition political parties are expected to begin preparing their legal fights against acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka’s report into the burglary at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo.
The report, which was released last Friday, exonerated the president from any wrongdoing when cash was stolen at his Phala Phala farm in 2020. Gcaleka’s report found that the allegations by opposition party the ATM that the president violated the executive ethics code were unsubstantiated.
The investigation found there was a “manager running the day-to-day [operations] of Phala Phala”, Gcaleka said, and admitted that Ramaphosa is the sole director of Ntaba Nyoni, the holding company of Phala Phala.
The ATM, DA and EFF have all announced their rejection of the Gcaleka report, and have also announced that they are looking into legal options to take the report on review.
“The president has always maintained that he was not party to any wrongdoing or violation of his oath of office,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said in a statement in response to the report.
Meanwhile, the DA this week is also expected to announce the way forward in the so-called moonshot pact, which seeks to unseat the governing party in the elections in 2024. Business Day understands that the announcements expected to be made by the DA include which opposition parties have agreed to be part of the moonshot pact and when the date of the convention of the parties will be.
The DA is in a race against time to get smaller parties and possible newcomers to band together to topple the ANC, which for the first time since 1994 is facing huge electoral losses. Several polls, including by the ANC itself, suggest its electoral support could fall below the 50% mark in the 2024 general election.
DRC visit
Ramaphosa will this week head to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to co-chair the 12th session of the DRC-SA binational commission (BNC).
“The BNC provides an opportunity to further strengthen the solid ties of friendship and co-operation that exist between the two countries. This will further improve and strengthen economic relations and increase investment through co-operation in the areas of politics and governance; defence and security; economy, finance and infrastructure; energy; and agriculture,” Magwenya said.
“The working visit will also provide an opportunity for the two presidents to discuss political and economic bilateral issues, as well as regional, continental and international matters of mutual concern.”
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