By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Members of Parliament will not be voting in secret on Tuesday when they decide whether to adopt the Section 89 panel’s report on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga.
National Assembly (NA) Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula declined requests to reconsider her decision to not allow the secret ballot to be used as a voting procedure on the report.
Members of Parliament will decide whether they should adopt the Section 89 panel’s report.
However, The African National Congress (ANC) has sent a clear message to its members – to protect the president.
This will effectively mean the end of the process should every single member, all 230 of them, should they be available to participate in the debate and vote in line with the instruction from the ANC.
At least 42 ANC MP rebels are expected to vote in favour of adopting the Phala Phala report in Parliament.
The Section 89 report, compiled by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo and two others, made damning findings against Ramaphosa.
The report found there was prima facie evidence against the president, and that he acted in a way that was inconsistent with his oath of office.
Last week Ramaphosa said the panel failed to carry out its mandate, produced a flawed report, and failed to establish whether confidential information put before it as evidence was legally obtained by former spy boss Arthur Fraser.
Meanwhile the businessman at the centre of the Phala Phala scandal reportedly said he was willing to testify in any legal proceedings.
Dubai-based Hazim Mustafa was named in a report probing allegations of a cover-up after more than $500 000 was stolen from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020.
Mustafa told Sky News he was cooperating with South African authorities. He reportedly bought 20 buffaloes from Phala Phala for $580 000 (about R10 million) cash in December 2019.
“Anything to help justice and to show the truth. I have nothing to hide,” he was quoted as saying.
Mustafa reportedly brought $600 000 cash (about R10.5 million) into South Africa during a visit in December 2019. The money was reportedly intended for buying a house.
However, he decided instead to turn his sights to buffalo breeding and said he was advised to buy the animals from Phala Phala by “people who work in safaris”.