South Africa: ANC Top Leadership Rejects Section 89 Panel Report

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to the press while on a state visit to the United Kingdom in November 2022.
5 December 2022
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Zukile Majova

A meeting of the top leadership of the ANC has decided to support President Cyril Ramaphosa and reject the report of the Section 89 Panel.

The decision of the National Working Committee means ANC MPs will vote against the findings of the Justice Sandile Ngcobo report.

Parliament is scheduled to discuss the report and vote on whether to follow the recommendations of the report and begin a process to impeach the president.

On Monday the national executive committee of the ANC will receive a report from the NWC and make a final decision on the position of the ruling party in this saga.

It is unlikely that the NEC will differ from the NWC -- an elite structure made up of the ANC top six and 20 senior members of the NEC.

Support from the 86-member NEC means any effort to impeach the president will fail. To be successful, the vote would need a two thirds majority in the 400-member National Assembly.

The ruling party has 230 MPs meaning a lot of them would have to vote against their party position.

Last week, the top level of the party collapsed partly because Ramaphosa failed to attend the meeting.

On Sunday, Ramaphosa was told to recuse himself while members of the ANC NWC discussed the Section 89 panel report.

The panel headed by Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that Ramaphosa "may have" violated the Constitution, his oath of office and various money laundering and tax laws.

Ramaphosa confirmed he would attend today's NEC meeting and account to the ANC's highest decision-making body.

" I will be attending the NEC meeting on Monday.

"It is up to the NEC to which I am accountable to take whatever decision."

Ramaphosa's allies who dominate the NEC are expected to support him and get him reelected at the party's national elective conference on 16 to 20 December.

Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, the coordinator in the office of the ANC secretary general said Ramaphosa is going nowhere.

"SA People, jurists & leaders have spoken -- to stay the path of Truth, Just & Renewal; not to be derailed by the rogue, corrupt, mediocre & complicit; Phala-Phala seems a storm in a teacup & a decoy.

"No evidence of CR wrongdoing.

"He remains the hope for integrity & shared prosperity."

With less than two weeks before the ANC elective conference, Ramaphosa remains the front runner for the ANC top job with over 2,200 nominations from ANC branches.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

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