By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The much-awaited Phala Phala farm report that probed the theft of foreign currency at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s was handed over to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Wednesday.
Former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo handed the report to Mapisa-Nqakula during a ceremony in Parliament, Cape Town.
The report consists of three volumes. The first volume is the report itself.
“Volume two and three is the record of the proceedings which contain every single document on which we relied in order to prepare this report, “he said.
The report is being handed over just weeks before the ANC’s elective conference to be held mid-December and where Ramaphosa is hoping to secure a second term as ANC president.
The panel which comprised former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, retired high court judge Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello was given 30 days in which to determine whether there are grounds to form a committee which would determine Ramaphosa’s fate.
Mapisa-Nqakula said MPs would have access to the report on Wednesday evening ahead of a special sitting of the National Assembly on 6 December to deal with the report.
“The report will be communicated to members of Parliament through the next publication of the announcements, tablings and committee reports tonight,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
Secretary to Parliament Xolile George said the panel had an estimated budget of R5.3 million. This included logistics and allowances.
Ngcobo thanked members of the panel – Judge Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello – and the various political parties that contributed to the report.
There has been a lot of anxiety, understandably so, from the people of South Africa.
“I’d to thank them for their patience and for allowing us the necessary space to do our work without any interruption,” he said.
The former chief justice said the process of putting together the report “taxed the patience” of the panel’s families to the “ultimate minute that human endurance could ever tolerate”.
Ngcobo stressed that the panel’s work was to determine whether Ramaphosa had a case to answer regarding the Phala Phala allegations.
He said their job was not to find the president guilty of anything or call witnesses.
“Our job was to interrogate the information that members of assemble saw fit to present to us. That’s what the rules made by the National Assembly told and required us to do. We could not go beyond that.
“It’s not in my blood to disregard the law. I live by the law and that’s what I have to do.”
Mapisa-Nqakula appointed the Section 89 inquiry panel following a motion by ATM for Ramaphosa’s removal on the grounds of “a serious violation of the Constitution or the law and serious misconduct”.
The panel probed whether Ramaphosa violated Section 96 (2)(a), read with Section 83 (b) of the Constitution. And if he violated Section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004.
The panel was supposed to make their submission earlier this month however they requested an extension, which they were granted, to complete the report. The extension meant that the matter would not be discussed in Parliament this year — paving the way for Ramaphosa to stand for a second term as ANC president.
This was because the report is now set to be released at the end of November, with Parliament scheduled to go on recess the next day.
However, after dissatisfaction from other parties, the parliamentary programming committee decided to push back the recess date to allow the report to be discussed by MPs on 6 December.
All parties represented in Parliament were given the opportunity to make submissions to the panel while the president provided a written submission.
The Phala Phala matter came to the fore when former spy boss Arthur Fraser alleged earlier in 2022 that Ramaphosa was involved in illegal activities surrounding a burglary at his farm. He claimed Ramaphosa had breached the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, and that large undisclosed sums of US dollars were removed from the Limpopo farm by burglars.
Ramaphosa told the panel established by Parliament to examine allegations relating to the Phala Phala saga that he never drew a salary, and that he had declared his financial interests at all times.
He held onto his two farms – Ntaba Nyoni in Mpumalanga, that he has owned since the early 2000s, and Phala Phala in Limpopo, that has been in operation since roughly 2010. Both properties are owned by the Tshivhase Trust, and the corporate entity used to manage the farms is Ntaba Nyoni Estates Pty (Ltd).
“I am entitled to retain assets or financial interests where no conflict of interest would arise, if these are declared. The ATM and EFF’s proposition that I have misconstrued my obligations in this regard is entirely without merit. I do not perform paid work for Ntaba Nyoni – nothing I said has ever suggested as much – nor do I receive remuneration for work or service other than my functions as President in the service of the people of South Africa,” his submission to the panel read.
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