By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
National Assembly (NA) Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has told the National Assembly Programming Committee that President Cyril Ramaphosa had written to her requesting that he answers on 29 September.
Ramaphosa was already scheduled to answer questions on the same date.
Opposition parties have, however, objected to the date, saying Ramaphosa should urgently return to the National Assembly to complete the remaining questions before then.
During a sitting earlier this month, chaos erupted after Ramaphosa did not answer questions on the Phala Phala matter.
Several ANC MPs came to the defence of Ramaphosa who virtually attended the hearing.
On Thursday, EFF MP Floyd Shivambu appeared highly irritated by the decision.
“Where is the autonomy of this Parliament, when a president can just do as he wishes,” Shivambu asked.
Mapisa-Nqakula said a panel should be appointed next week and from which the process will start.
Meanwhile it’s D-day for Ramaphosa’s lawyers to give the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) answers on the Phala Phala saga.
According to the country’s central bank, the president didn’t report the foreign exchange transaction from which the alleged millions of US dollars at the heart of the scandal stemmed.
And its financial surveillance department has now asked Ramaphosa’s legal advisors for answers, with the deadline for him to provide them is Thursday.