By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has denied claims that the African National Congress (ANC) has been using its parliamentary majority to protect President Cyril Ramaphosa from accountability.
Mashatile was answering questions in Parliament for the first time since he was appointed the country’s deputy president.
MPs used the opportunity to question him about the “unanswered questions” arising from the break-in and theft at the Phala Phala farm.
He insisted that the President is cooperating with every part of the investigation.
“We are not shielding the President on Phala Phala,”he said.
“The President has expressed his commitment to cooperate fully with all investigations. So there is no shielding. I think sometimes there is a zeal to find the president guilty without going through due process, it is not correct. We are a democracy, we have independent institutions that we have set up, and nobody is interfering with them Let’s not be impatient, let’s allow these institutions to do their work properly.”
He says the government supports all the processes without reservation.
“Given the fact that investigations are still ongoing, it would be ill-advised to opine on whether or not the government’s efforts to combat crime and corruption have been undermined. We simply do not have sufficient information to reach informed conclusions at this stage,” he noted.
“That said, there is one important issue that stands out and merits mentioning even at this stage. The fact that public institutions can, without let or hindrance, investigate the affairs of no less a figure than the President of the Republic speaks volumes about the strength of our democracy.”
He added: “The government remains committed to fighting crime and corruption. As honourable members are aware, the Phala Phala matter is being probed by more than one public agency following the break-in and theft at the President’s Phala Phala farm.”
Earlier this month, the Office of the Public Protector, in an interim report, cleared Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in the Phala Phala scandal, finding that he had fulfilled his obligation to declare his interests in the farm and had reported the matter to the police.
The ATM and DA challenged the Public Protector’s investigation and expressed concern with the report, which investigated the robbery and theft of millions of US dollars from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.