ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa says there are no plans to oust his deputy Paul Mashatile. This follows negative news reports that have dug into Mashatile's apparent luxurious lifestyle, the debacle involving his VIP protection services team and his ties to high-profile businesspeople.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile's tenure has been marred by allegations that have put him in a precarious position, but President Cyril Ramaphosa has set the record straight about what has been reported as a concerted and strategic effort to have Mashatile removed.

Speaking on Sunday during a media Q&A session following the ANC's three-day National Executive Committee meeting, the President noted a report in City Press in which Mashatile said there was a plot against him.

"I had a discussion with the Deputy President and I said, 'What is this?' We are going to have other discussions. I immediately said that I am appointing you and I am the only person who can de-appoint you.

"There is just no thought, no plan, no inkling whatsoever that something like that could be in the works. I would have had to have my own head examined to have a Deputy President appointed and then thereafter remove him, unless the party decides so. There is no proof or substance of that at all," the President said.

During the interview with City Press, Mashatile was tight-lipped about whom he believed was behind the plot to remove him, but he did mention that...